For service to the poor, Frank Carroll plaza rededicated

By BILL DOYLE
CFP CORRESPONDENT

WORCESTER - Father John Madden knew he needed to be in attendance when the city and the Hanover Theatre held a rededication ceremony of the newly constructed Francis R. Carroll Plaza and Bank of America stage.
“I didn’t even give it a thought,” Father Madden said. “He has just contributed so much to us, and as the pastor of St. John’s and a resident of Worcester, it was a no-brainer really to go.”
Originally dedicated to Carroll in 2008, the plaza was rededicated on July 19 to the Worcester native in celebration of his decades of philanthropic work and service to the city. Father Madden knows all about Mr. Carroll’s hard work and philanthropy.
Mr. Carroll played an essential role in raising $1.7 million to purchase a fruit and vegetable store that was up for sale at the opposite end of the parking lot from St. John’s Church and renovating it into a soup kitchen and food pantry. The St. John’s Food for the Poor Program at the St. Francis Xavier Center opened in June of 2013.
Prior to opening the center, St. John’s served meals each weekday morning in the church basement for eight years, but more room was needed.
“The whole thing is really typical of Frank,” Father Madden said. “The whole origin of it is that he was having lunch at the Irish Cultural Centre and he walked over to my office and said, ‘We need to buy that building,’ and before I even knew it, we owned the building and we were serving food out of it. He’s just a force of nature in that regard.”
Mr. Carroll, a lifelong St. John’s parishioner, was the largest individual contributor and helped raise the funds for the rest.
From 6:30-9:30 a.m. each weekday, St. John’s Food for the Poor serves 1,000 free plates of what donated food it receives, ranging from bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches on bagels to chicken parmigiana and steak tips. People either eat at the center or take it with them. 
“Frank’s a doer,” Father Madden said. “So, we went ahead and did it. It was sort of a perfect storm. Around that time there was sort of an economic downturn and, just at the time it was needed, that center opened. So, it just exploded from what we were doing in the basement to what we’re doing in the Xavier Center. You can’t compare the two places.”
Father Madden remembers that during the fundraising for the St. Francis Xavier Center, Sumner “Tony” Tilton of the Fletcher Tilton law firm told Mr. Carroll that people would run into the nearest building when they saw him coming down the street.
“And I said,” Father Madden recalled, “‘And he runs in after them.’”
“I’m a guy, when I do something, I do it with a great deal of enthusiasm,” Carroll said.
Father Madden decided to call it the St. Francis Xavier Center and Mr. Carroll liked the idea because St. Francis is his patron saint.
“Father Madden was so easy to work with,” Mr. Carroll said. “He’s a good guy.”
Mr. Carroll also served as chairman of the 100th Continuous Annual Novena of Grace in Honor of St. Francis Xavier in March. St. John is the only church in the U.S. to hold 100 years of consecutive Novenas of Grace.
Carroll was a founding member of the team that renovated the Hanover Theatre and the new plaza is located in front of the theater. The plaza features the new Bank of America stage, which hosts outdoor performances and community events, as well as an art installation, “Calliope” by artist Ross Miller. The series of metal towers inspired by the Wurlitzer organ will be lit at night.
“The day itself was very exciting,” Mr. Carroll said of the rededication. “I saw a lot of my old friends, even from when I was kid, and the team that worked together to build the theater and the city workers who built the plaza. I was very happy because a lot of people are going to be able to use that plaza for shows, free of charge.”
“It was great,” Father Madden said. “It was a really nice celebration. It was a really nice crowd. It was a real celebration of Worcester.”
Carroll founded the Small Business Service Bureau in Worcester in 1968 to provide benefits and legislative advocacy to small businesses at the state and national level to reduce their cost of health insurance.
Carroll was instrumental in the development of Federal Squarewhere he acquired the Dexter, Academy and Vuona buildings on Main Street. He invested several million dollars into the buildings, including two façade renovations, where his company headquarters were located at 554 Main St. His headquarters have since moved to 38 Austin St.
Mr. Carroll tries to visit those in need at the center at 7 a.m. and then goes to work. He said he grew up in poverty and the few soup kitchens at the time couldn’t feed everyone in need.
“When you grow up in poverty and then through God’s grace you grow, you never forget where you came from,” he said. “That was a promise I made my father many years ago.”
The back of his business card reads: “We must always keep in mind the social reality of those less fortunate. We must not forget the poor and the needy among us.”
Fifteen years ago, Mr. Carroll underwent a laryngectomy, a surgery to remove his larynx or voice box, and he had to learn to breathe, speak and swallow again.
He never smoked and he doesn’t know how he got throat cancer, but he began speaking in a hoarse voice. His cardiologist heard him having trouble giving a speech at Mechanics Hall and instructed him to get his throat checked. After undergoing a year of radiation at St. Vincent’s, he had the surgery.
In order to talk, he must press a button covering a hole in his throat. He learned to talk again by saying the Rosary aloud at home.
Even after his surgery, he continued to help others. He volunteered to advise people before and after they underwent the same surgery. He also appeared in a public service announcement.
He tries to attend Mass every Sunday at St. John’s and, when he’s having problems breathing due to his laryngectomy, he watches Mass on television.
Asked what he thought his legacy would be, Mr. Carroll replied, “I don’t know. In a few years, people won’t even know who I am. But it doesn’t make any difference to me.”
Obviously, that’s not true. They’ll remember him because of the Frank R. Carroll Plaza and for many other reasons.