A legal battle over whether a Massachusetts city can install statues of St. Michael the Archangel and St. Florian outside its public safety headquarters could ultimately reach the U.S. Supreme Court, with attorneys on both sides arguing the case could shape the future of religious displays on government property.
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, who is representing the city of Quincy, told Fox News Digital that they are imminently expecting a decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Court.
“The ACLUs position is anti-art and anti-history and were confident the justices will reject it,” Joseph Davis, senior counsel at Becket and lead attorney for Quincy, told Fox News Digital in a statement.
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“We dont hide away beautiful civic art just because it might make someone think of religion, and nothing in Massachusetts law says otherwise. Quincy has every right to honor its first responders with symbols that have inspired courage and sacrifice for generations,” Davis added.
The controversy started after The Patriot Ledger reported that Quincy planned to install two 10-foot bronze statues of St. Michael the Archangel and St. Florian outside its new public safety headquarters.
The two 10-foot bronze statues of St. Michael and St. Florian were crafted by a sculptor in Italy and chosen by Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch. St. Michael is the patron saint of police officers and while St. Florian is the patron saint of firefighters.
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Koch, according to court documents, said he did not choose the statues to advertise religion but to “honor, inspire, and encourage our First Responders” as well as “boost morale,” and “ensure [first responders] lifesaving work would remain maximally effective.”
Critics said the plan had not been publicly disclosed during the building approval process and raised constitutional concerns.
The legal battle began in May 2025, when various faith groups of Quincy residents and taxpayers sued the City of Quincy and Koch in Norfolk Superior Court, arguing that the planned installation of the statues outside the city’s new public safety headquarters violated the Massachusetts Constitution’s protections on religious neutrality.
