Cambria City School Also Will Be Closed
By Susan Evans
Tribune-Democrat
February 26, 2008
http://www.tribune-democrat.com/cnhi/tribunedemocrat/homepage/local_story_057000539.html?keyword=leadpicturestory
Four of the five Roman Catholic churches in Johnstown's historic Cambria City section will close next year, and the last remaining Catholic school in the neighborhood is shutting in June.
The announcement of the closings, made by Bishop Joseph Adamec late Monday after word leaked during the weekend, rocked the neighborhood best known for its annual church-based ethnic festival.
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| St. Stephen’s Roman Catholic Church is one of five churches in Johnstown’s Cambria City section that the diocese plans to consolidate. Photo by Todd Berkey |
Which one of the five churches will survive has not been decided and will depend on an engineering study to evaluate each structure, said Adamec, leader of the eight-county Catholic Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown.
"That's horrifying," said Richard Burkert, executive director of the Johnstown Area Heritage Association.
"Those churches represent a really important part of Johnstown's cultural heritage.
He said the community needs to work with the diocese to plan for the preservation and reuse of those important structures.
"You lose those, and you've lost the whole cultural identity of Cambria City."
But diocese officials say the announcement should not have been a surprise.
"Since 1994, when the diocese began planning for a declining population, the issue of closing or merging churches has been under review," diocese spokesman Rob Egan said.
In a sense, the churches were living on borrowed time. In 2002, Adamec said that at least one would close.
He called upon Cambria City priests of SS. Casimir and Emerich, St. Columba, Immaculate Conception, St. Rochus, and St. Stephen to decide their own fate.
And West End Catholic School turned last year to the community for a helping hand, because its enrollment had fallen to only 55 students in kindergarten through eighth grade.
West End is the last remaining Catholic school in Cambria City, which once saw seven parishes, each with its own school.
But the warnings of trouble didn't dull the pain for those with ties to the churches.
"It's a shame," Johnstown Councilman Anthony "Red" Pinizzotto said. "A lot of people treasured the nationality of the churches, and they want to go to the churches their parents worshipped in.
"It's a bad day. This is their heritage, and it's a shame that it's taken away," he said.
Adamec first announced the closings to Cambria City priests through a Feb. 15 letter giving them advance notice.
"I wanted to notify each of you about my decision, so that you would have a chance to review this statement before it was released (especially to the media)," he wrote.
"I believe that this is what is best for Cambria City/West End. In the days to come, my staff and I will work with you and your parish representatives in terms of the overall plan for the parishes of the area," he wrote.
That letter was read at some Masses last weekend.
By late Monday afternoon, the bishop sent a statement to the news media, outlining the changes that will take place.
He stressed that no churches would close until 2009.
"Since many of the church buildings are in need of repair, an engineering study is taking place to determine which church is best able to serve as the worship site for the new parish," he said.
Adamec also stressed that church closings have been taking place since 1994 "as the result of a declining number of priests and a dwindling population in the area.
"Decisions to merge or close parishes are difficult ones and not made lightly. Nevertheless, they are necessary within the framework of good stewardship," he said.
Procedurally, several groups advise the bishop on closings, he said, including the Reconfiguration Task Force, financial officials and the diocese's education department.
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