The Plain Dealer
March 14, 2009
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/03/parishioners_in_the_cleveland.html
[with a list of the affected churches]
Read a diocese letter to parishes (PDF)
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| Sr. Mary Beth Gray practices before the mass at St. Colman Church Saturday. |
There were tears and cheers in Catholic churches throughout Greater Cleveland on Saturday as the faithful learned for the first time whether their parishes will fit in -- or not -- in a new, smaller version of the Cleveland Catholic Diocese.
At Sacred Heart of Jesus in Slavic Village, parishioners shouted, "My God! Why?" when they heard their church was closing.
At St. Stephen on West 54th Street in Cleveland, there was a burst of applause and a shout of "Hallelujah" at the news it would stay open.
At St. Ignatius of Antioch on Lorain Avenue in Cleveland, an emotional pastor, the Rev. James McGonegal, told a shocked congregation he would appeal the decree to close.
"This is a process and it is not over yet," McGonegal told the congregation. "Stay with us. Pray with us."
Parish priests throughout the eight-county diocese read "special delivery" letters from Bishop Richard Lennon during Saturday evening Masses, announcing whether their churches would close or remain open.
The diocese declined to publicly release the entire list until today, when parishes without Saturday Masses will learn their fates.
Lennon is scheduled to hold a news conference today to disclose , the entire list, which the diocese said Saturday outlines a plan for 52 fewer parishes by next year. Twenty-nine of the diocese's 224 parishes will close, while 41 will merge, creating 18 new parishes.
Affected churches must close by July 1, 2010. Parishes have 10 business days from their notifications to appeal to the diocese.
Tracking by The Plain Dealer on Saturday showed that at least 38 churches in Cuyahoga County will close or merge. Most of those closed are in inner-city neighborhoods. Some were big surprises -- St. Ignatius of Antioch, St. James in Lakewood and St. Colman in Cleveland.
Shutting down Colman and Ignatius means the darkening of two brilliantly lighted West Side steeples, both of which are prominent landmarks reaching into the city's skyline.
In a letter to parishioners and friends of St. Colman, the Rev. Bob Begin argued that the closing would sever a lifeline to poor people who rely on Colman's neighborhood outreach ministry.
The letter asks people to fill out an accompanying form to appeal Lennon's decision.
"The suburbs are isolated from the poor," said Colman parishioner Carole Romansky of Berea, noting how inner-city neighborhoods took the biggest hits in the downsizing. "Would Jesus have stayed in the suburbs?"
The downsizing, said to be the first in the history of the 162-year-old diocese, is due to a shortage of priests, changing demographics and wanting collection baskets, the bishop has said.
"We're just too big for the number of people that we have," Lennon said in a recent interview, noting that the number of practicing Catholics in the diocese dwindled from 1 million 50 years ago to less than 800,000 today.
This weekend's announcements culminate two years of tedious meetings and wild speculations on which of the diocese's churches should be sacrificed and which should live.
Many old ethnic parishes were on the list of casualties.
Parishioners at St. Barbara, a historically Polish parish in Cleveland, reacted with sadness and anger to news of the church's demise.
"My grandfather built it, my mother helped to sustain it, and I guess I'm going to bury it," said Christine Dziedzina of Old Brooklyn.
St. Procop, a 145-year-old Czech parish on West 41st Street in Cleveland, has been suffering decline for years.
But despite what was expected Saturday, when parish matriarch Sister Annette Amendolia announced at the end of the 4:30 p.m. Mass that the Bohemian church would close, "it hit me like a bomb," said Joan Marie Klir, who wept openly in church.
"I've been a member of this parish for 62 years," Klir, 74, said as she dabbed her eyes. "St. Procop, to me, is home."
St. Casimir, one of the biggest and most beautiful churches in the diocese, also learned its Polish Masses will be coming to an end.
Meanwhile, Cleveland's Mount Pleasant neighborhood will lose its last two Catholic churches, St. Cecilia and Epiphany.
"They're taking the Catholic presence out of the southeast section of the city," said Theresa Edwards, 51, a St. Cecilia parishioner.
At St. John Cathedral, it was announced that two of its downtown neighbors, St. Peter and the Conversion of St. Paul, will close.
Some were surprised by good news. Worshippers at Immaculate Heart of Mary, a Polish parish established in 1894 in Slavic Village, were expecting the worst Saturday as they came to 4 p.m. Mass.
"I feel this is just one more foreclosure in Slavic Village" said Betty Dabrowski.
But she and the others gasped to hear the Rev. Ralph Hudak announce the church would remain open.
"We're on a bit of a high, a sigh of relief," he said. "But you can't just sit back on your laurels and think you have another 20 years ahead of you. The challenge is to do a little more."
Following Mass, Dorothy Zalewski, 82, pumped her fist into the air as she walked to her home a few doors down from the church. "This made my day," she said.
But not far away at another Polish church, Sacred Heart of Jesus on Krakow Avenue, established in 1888, parishioners mourned.
"This is a real blow to us," the Rev. Joseph Mecir told the congregation. "We were not expecting this at all. We are the only parish in Slavic Village whose bills are paid. We are not in the red at all. We have no idea why this came about."
Once a parish is closed, the priest is no longer a pastor and will be reassigned, the diocese said. An ex-pastor may apply for a pastorship at a new parish created by a merger.
When parishes merge, they must discard their old names for a new one. Parishioners may suggest a name, but the bishop decides what the new parish will be called.
St. Ann, a flagship church in Cleveland Heights, learned it will survive but not unchanged. It will lose its 94-year-old name in a merger with St. Philomena, Christ the King and St. Louis.
The closing process started with 69 so-called cluster committees -- made up of representatives of parishes grouped by geographical localities and sometimes by nationality.
At least one-third of the committees were told by the diocese to find ways to downsize their clusters by merging parishes and closing churches.
Recommendations by the committees then were sent to a diocesan committee, which reviewed the work and made its own recommendations to the bishop's staff.
The staff then sent its own recommendations to a priest council for approval. In the end, despite the layers of committee decisions, Lennon had the final say.
He sometimes reversed or ignored the decision of the committees.
Lennon disregarded the recommendation to close St. Stephen, a historic German parish, and instead closed nearby St. Colman.
He ignored the pleadings of the Hungarian community to preserve all three of its Catholic churches. The bishop ordered that St. Margaret in Orange and busy St. Emeric in Ohio City close and merge with St. Elizabeth in the old Hungarian neighborhood of Buckeye.
The unexpected decision to close stately St. Ignatius stunned parishioners and civic leaders alike.
"St. Ignatius is everything a Cleveland diocese church should be," said Cleveland City Councilman Jay Westbrook. "It's like the United Nations here. They have an integrated school and church. This is where the diocese should be taking a stand."
In a prepared statement, the bishop addressed some of the expected criticism.
"Understandably, there will be sadness and upset," Lennon said in a statement posted on the diocese's Web site. "There may well be questioning why us and not them. And even for some there will be anger."
In a news release Saturday, Lennon said: "I pray that my decisions will serve the needs of this diocese and its people and create the vibrancy that allows us to carry out what God has asked."
The diocese has said it hopes to sell the closed churches, though some, it noted, will be torn down. Sacred artifacts such as chalices, tabernacles, statues and stained-glass windows will be removed from the closed churches and offered to other churches in the diocese, the diocese has said. Artifacts that can't be reused will be stored until sold.
The diocese last month demolished St. Andrew church at East 51st Street and Superior Avenue. The parish, established by Slovaks in 1906, closed last year.
During demolition, a crucifix atop the bell tower, along with a bell, were destroyed. Diocese spokesman Robert Tayek said workers tried to remove the 100-year-old crucifix but it was too deteriorated.
The demolition sparked an outcry from some City Council members who moved to toughen the city's historical-landmark law as a way to preserve empty structures.
If a structure is designated a historical landmark, it can't be demolished or architecturally altered without the permission of the city's Landmarks Commission.
Currently, the law protects only exteriors, but a council committee earlier this month voted to introduce legislation to protect interiors of historical landmarks, including closed churches.
In Cleveland, 28 Catholic churches have been designated as Cleveland historical landmarks. At least eight of them will close as part of the downsizing.
Some suburbs will also lose longtime, cherished houses of worship.
The Rev. John Weigand, pastor at the century-old St. James, on the west side of Lakewood, tried to console teary-eyed parishioners after he delivered the news.
"This building is a beautiful building. A magnificent building," he said. "But the bottom line is, it isn't the church. We are."
The following Plain Dealer staff members contributed to this story: Margaret Bernstein, Sharon Broussard, Joanna Connors, Joel Downey, Joseph Frolik, Amanda Garrett, Laura Johnston, Bill Lubinger, Joan Mazzolini, Mike McIntyre, Jim McCarty, Jim Nichols, Ron Rutti, Mike Sangiacomo, Grant Segall, Robert Schoenberger, Kaye Spector, Angela Townsend and Jodie Valade.
Churches, and their status Saturday night
1. Annunciation, 4697 W. 130th St.: Merging with Ascension and St. Patrick on Rocky River Drive.
2. Ascension, 14040 Puritas Ave.: Merging with Anunciation and St. Patrick on Rocky River Drive.
3. Blessed Sacrament, 3381 Fulton Road: Closing.
4. Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, East Ninth Street and Superior: Remaining open.
5. Corpus Christi, 4850 Pearl Road: Closing and merging with Our Lady of Good Counsel.
6. Holy Cross, 19951 Lake Shore Blvd., Euclid: Merging with St. Christine at Holy Cross.
7. Holy Name, 8329 Broadway SE: Remaining open.
8. Holy Redeemer, 15172 Kipling Ave., SE: Remaining open.
9. Holy Rosary, 12021 Mayfield Road: Remaining open.
10. Holy Trinity, 24821 Columbus Road., Bedford Heights: Closing and merging with St. Pius X.
11. Immaculate Conception, 4129 Superior Ave.: Remaining open.
12. Immaculate Heart of Mary, 6700 Lansing Ave.: Remaining open.
13. La Sagrada Familia, 7719 Detroit Ave.: Remaining open.
14. Our Lady of Angels, 3644 Rocky River Drive: Remaining open.
15. Our Lady of Good Counsel, 4423 Pearl Road: Merging with Corpus Christi.
16. Our Lady of Mercy, 2425 West 11th St.: Closing.
17. Our Lady of Mt. Carmel West, 6928 Detroit Ave.: Remaining open.
18. Our Lady of Peace, Shaker Boulevard and East 126th Street: Remaining open.
19. Our Lady of Perpetual Help, 18022 Neff Road: Merging with St. George at Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
20. Sacred Heart of Jesus, 6916 Krakow Ave.: Closing.
21. Saints Cyril and Methodius, 12608 Madison Ave.: Remaining open and merging with St. Rose of Lima at Saints Cyril and Methodius.
22. Saints Philip and James, 3727 Bosworth Road: Closing.
23. St. Ann, 2175 Coventry Road, Cleveland Heights: Merging with St. Philomena, Christ the King and St. Louis.
24. St. Augustine, 2486 West 14th St.: Remaining open.
25. St. Barbara, 1505 Denison Ave.: Closing.
26. St. Boniface, 3545 West 54th St.: Remaining open.
27. St. Casimir, 8223 Sowinski Ave.: Closing.
28. St. Cecilia, Kinsman Road and East 152nd Street: Closing, as will Epiphany.
29. St. Charles Borromeo, 5891 Ridge Road, Parma: Remaining open.
30. St. Christine, 840 East 222nd St.: Closing and merging with Holy Cross.
31. St. Clement, 14401 Madison Ave., Lakewood: Remaining open.
32. St. Colman, 2027 West 65th St.: Closing.
33. St. Emeric, 1890 West 22nd St.: Closing.
34. St. Felicitas, 140 Richmond Road, Euclid: Merging with St. Paul in Euclid.
35. St. George, 6527 Superior Ave.: Merging with Our Lady of Perpetual Help at Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
36. St. Gregory the Great, 1545 S. Green Road, South Euclid: Merging with St. Margaret Mary. Worship site to be determined.
37. St. Hedwig, 12905 Madison Ave., Lakewood: Closing.
38. St. Hyacinth, 6114 Francis Ave.: Closing.
39. St. Ignatius of Antioch, 10205 Lorain Ave.: Closing, but school remaining open.
40. St. James, 17514 Detroit Ave., Lakewood: Closing.
41. St. Jerome, 1500 Lake Shore Blvd.: Remaining open.
42. St. John Cantius, 906 College Ave.: Remaining open.
43. St. John Nepomucene, Fleet Avenue and East 50th St.: Remaining open.
44. St. Leo the Great, 4940 Broadview Road: Remaining open.
45. St. Louis, 2463 N. Taylor Road: Closing and merging with St. Philomena, St. Ann and Christ the King.
46. St. Luke, Clifton Boulevard and Bunts Road, Lakewood: Remaining open.
47. St. Malachi, West 25th St.: Remaining open.
48. St. Margaret Mary, 4217 Bluestone Road, South Euclid: merging with St. Gregory the Great. Worship site to be determined.
49. St. Margaret of Hungary, 4680 Lander Road, Orange: Closing.
50. St. Mark, 15800 Montrose Ave.: Remaining open.
51. St. Mary, 15519 Holmes Ave.: Remaining open.
52. St. Mary, 340 Union St., Bedford: Closing and merging with St. Pius X.
53. St. Mel, 14436 Triskett Road: Remaining open, but school is closing.
54. St. Michael the Archangel, 3114 Scranton: Remaining open.
55. St. Patrick, 4427 Rocky River Drive: Merging with Anunciation and Ascension.
56. St. Patrick, 3602 Bridge Ave.: Remaining open.
57. St. Paul, 1360 East 40th St.: Remaining open.
58. St. Paul, 1231 Chardon Road, Euclid: Closing and merging with St. Felicitas.
59. St. Philomena, 13824 Euclid Ave., East Cleveland: Merging with St. Ann's, Christ the King and St. Louis. Worship sites at St. Philomena and St. Ann's.
60. St. Pius X, 400 Center Road, Bedford: Remaining open but merging with Holy Trinity in Bedford Heights and St. Mary in Bedford.
61. St. Procop, 3181 West 41st St.: Closing.
62. St. Robert Bellarmine, 23802 Lake Shore Blvd., Euclid: Merging with St. William at St. William.
63. St. Rocco, 3205 Fulton Road: Remaining open.
64. St. Rose of Lima, 11401 Detroit Ave.: Closing and merging with Saints Cyril and Methodius at Saints Cyril and Methodius.
65. St. Stanislaus, 3649 East 65th St.: Remaining open.
66. St. Stephen, 1930 West 54th St.: Remaining open.
67. St. Thomas More, 4170 N. Amber Drive, Brooklyn: Remaining open.
68. St. Vincent de Paul, 13400 Lorain Ave.: Remaining open.
69. St. Vitus, 6019 Lausche Ave.: Remaining open.
70. St. Wendelin, 2281 Columbus Road: Closing.
71. St. William, 367 East 260th St., Euclid: Merging with St. Robert at St. William.
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