In 1834 James Wilson, the first Catholic came to Hudson. In the year 1846 Hudson, together with Marlboro, Ashland, Hopkinton, Maynard, Medway and Holliston formed the Milford Parish. During the following years, Father Boyce, pastor of Milford, heroically traveled from one mission to another to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in those towns in which the greater number of Catholics would congregate. Catholics gathered on a monthly basis in a private room in Marlboro where the Reverend Father Boyce celebrated Mass. In September 1857, Reverend John Welsh became pastor of Saxonville, including under his jurisdiction the Catholics of Hudson and Marlboro. When Father Conlin came to reside in Marlboro as pastor, Catholics in Hudson were rapidly increasing. Mass at this time was said in the Union Hall of the Unitarian Church and later in Houghton Hall.
In January 1869, Reverend Michael T. Maguire became successor to Father Conlin and the nucleus of St. Michael's Parish sprang into being. It started with a group of eager workers, who built a simple building on Maple Street, now named Manning Street. In February 1870 the new edifice was dedicated by Father O'Reilly of Clinton, who was later appointed Bishop of Springfield. For 6 more years, the priests of Marlboro divided their time between the Hudson Mission and the Marlboro Parish.
Finally in 1876, Father Peter A. McKenna, formerly a curate under Father Delahanty from Marlboro, came to replace him in the new parish St. Michael's. With each passing year, the size of the parish increased and one of the pastor's most cherished dreams was the building of a new church to accommodate the growing congregation.. This dream became reality when construction of our present church got underway in 1889. The corner stone was laid on August 25th of that year in an impressive ceremony celebrated by Archbishop Williams. From a temporary platform erected for the occasion Reverend Father Charles W. Currier addressed the notable gathering in English while Father DuFrance spoke in French.
St. Michael Church was designed by P.C. Kelly of New York. Within the Church can be found the same three marble altars that were first placed in there. The center one, and largest of the three, was a gift from Father Thomas Cusack, in memory of his parents. Our Church is of Gothic style and has memorial windows of stained glass. Much of the interior has been re-painted, new carpeting installed, and widening of the center aisle accomplished through removal and replacement of the original pews.
In 1996 major restoration was done to the exterior to secure the beautiful stain glass windows and repair of much of the now 120 year old roof. This restoration was made possible through the love and dedication of its many members from both the Portuguese speaking and English speaking communities.
In November 2000, Christ the King Parish was suppressed, and the parishioners were welcomed into the St. Michael community. The Christ the King church building remained open as a chapel of Saint Michael Parish until October 31, 2004. The stained glass windows and other precious items from Christ the King were moved to the lower church of St. Michael. On November 17, 2004, with great joy, Saint Michael parish dedicated the lower church as the Christ the King Chapel.
St. Michael's remains a mission church at heart opening her doors to many new families moving into the area under the loving guidance of her administrator Rev. Laurence (Ren) Tocci.