Massachusetts’ highest court has temporarily prevented Quincy from installing two 10-foot statues of the Catholic saints Michael and Florian outside its new public safety headquarters. The court agreed that the monuments could be seen as government endorsement of a particular religion, while the city says they are intended to honour and inspire police officers and firefighters.

The ruling, issued on 20 August, upheld a lower-court injunction from October 2025 while the wider case continues. Faith groups and taxpayers argue the statues breach the state constitution’s religious-neutrality protections; Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch and its lawyers say the saints have broad symbolic importance to first responders and that the decision is only preliminary.