HOLYOKE (MA)
WWLP
Anaridis Rodriguez
HOLYOKE, Mass. (WWLP) – Nearly a year after holding an on going prayer vigil inside the Mater Dolorosa church, hundreds gathered to announce they will abide by the Vatican’s request to vacate the parish. “I used to be an altar server here before it closed and yesterday when I was here I was trying to relive the moments when I did,” said 10-year-old Kathryn Fydenkevez Sunday morning inside the church.
For five generations, Fydenkevez’s family has known Mater Dolorosa Church as their second home. On Sunday she and her brother were among the legion of parishioners ready to show they will fight to keep their church open.
Kathryn’s mother, Sharon, told 22News exposing her children to this experience was an easy decision. “They’ve been involved right from the start, right from the start, they didn’t want to leave.”
But a Vatican decree says otherwise. On May 25th, the Vatican tribunal issued a ruling ordering parishioners to leave the parish which has been part of the Holyoke community since the late 1800’s.
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