LEWISTON — Two of Lewiston-Auburn's five Catholic churches will be closed by the end of October.
St. Joseph's Church
St. Patrick's Church
On Oct. 13, St. Joseph Church at 253 Main St. will celebrate its final Mass with Bishop Richard Malone. St. Patrick Church at 220 Bates St. will follow two weeks later on Oct. 27.
The Prince of Peace Parish, which operates each of the city's Catholic churches, announced the dates last week.
The announcement follows a closure recommendation in August by Monsignor Marc Caron, who leads the Prince of Peace Parish and oversees all of Lewiston's churches.
"Even after doing this, we project a $100,000 budget deficit for the fiscal year," Caron said in August. The previous fiscal year ended on June 30 and had a deficit of about $240,000.
"It's a tremendous loss at multiple levels," he said. "Even if they were open, we couldn't afford to use them."
The closure doesn't come as a surprise. In March, the two churches were targeted by a task force of local leaders. In the spring and early summer, Caron led a series of talks looking for alternatives.
He found none. In the past 10 years, the number of Catholics in the city has fallen by about one-third, from 21,000 in 1999 to about 14,000 today, he said.
Before either St. Joseph's or St. Patrick's closes, the church will hold events for regular attendees. The parish has not released the schedule for St. Patrick's. However, several events are scheduled for St. Joseph's.
• Homecoming Masses for former and current parishioners are scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 3, at 4 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 4, at 10:15 a.m. Those involved in lay ministries will be recognized at these Masses.
• A church barbecue will be held Sunday, Oct. 4, in the Trinity Catholic Junior High School parking lot. It will be free.
• The sacrament of anointing of the sick will be offered during the 4 p.m. Mass on Saturday, Oct. 10, and at the 10:15 a.m. Mass on Sunday, Oct. 11. A reception in the chapel will follow each Mass.
• A closing Mass and banquet at St. Joseph Church is planned for Tuesday, Oct. 13, at 6 p.m. Bishop Richard J. Malone will preside. Following the Mass, a banquet will be held at Carriage House Plus on Lisbon Street. Tickets are $20 each and may be obtained at the parish office at 16 St. Croix Street until Oct 1.
For more information on any of the events, call Pat Gavula at the parish office, 777-1200.
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St. Patrick's church was
St. Patrick's church was wonderful to this community...Many children attended that school and church...Those that came from poor homes always had the nuns that were willing to feed them. When parents had no money for tuition, the church assisted and often paid for many poor childrens education...I know this church went beyond the call of duty for anyone in need. It did not matter their denomination. The Priest that served at this church were wonderful. Most were Irish Priest...with tremendous character...and they set a Christlike example in this community. This is a sad day. Generations of our family were married in this church. And are still married. All the children and grandchildren and some great grandchildren and one great great grandchild were baptized here. Generations of our family made all there sacraments here. First Communions and Confirmations. We have had two generations of Alter servers. There was never a time when a family was in despair, that the Priest that served this parish did not make time for them. It is more than the closing of a church...It is like losing a family member.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.More so another sign of the
More so another sign of the distance between god and society. =(
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Those churches are prime candidates for Lewiston's version of urban renewel. Better get the fire department ready.
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What truly sad news for Lewiston! The only way for Maine to keep its churches open and bring new converts to the Faith is to preach the Truth with charity. Right now, most of the parishes have priests who simply preach the niceness gospel, and wouldn't have said a "peep" about "gay marriage" had they not been commanded to under pain of obedience from the bishop. Ironically, too many people believe that the harder truths of Catholicism are what keeps people from coming to the Catholic Church, when it's exactly the opposite that's true.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.I think its sad.
I think its sad.
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Your so correct Tron!! And Publikwerks, what a wonderful idea. If enough of us Gays buy them, say like $1, like they sold St. Mary's years ago, we'd have ourself a large business now, huh?
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.Apparently, the only
Apparently, the only minority/church/religion for which remains proper to publically make offensive comments is Catholicism... well, maybe Mormonism and Islam, too. You may disagree with our convictions, but that doesn't mean you may make comments which are, of their nature, offensive to our sincerely held convictions and the places we revere as holy and sacred.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.While currently I have
While currently I have serious issues with the diocese, I'd rather focus right now on the positive - my wonderful memories of growing up in St. Patrick's parish. My faith was formed there. I was baptized, married, and received my first sacraments there. I graduated from St. Pat's school. The priests and nuns were an important part of our family. Many of my family's friends shared membership in St. Pat's and my parents were active in many parish activities. I am saddened to see it close, but I have my memories and will carry a part of St. Pat's with me always.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.It wouldnt surprize me if
It wouldnt surprize me if those two churches turn into moss
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.what? moss? Do you mean... a
what? moss? Do you mean... a Mosque?
seriously.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.tron - yes... yes, we do.
tron - yes... yes, we do. Those churches also serve poor and urban populations in Lewiston, but where in the Bible does it talk about doing that? Oh, right - all over the place.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.Tron, For once I whole
Tron,
For once I whole heartedly agree with you, it's not like the church hasn't had i'ts own hiddenskletons
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.Let's see use $100,000 to
Let's see use $100,000 to keep two churches open for the faithful, or use that money to buy deceptive ads to support discrimination. At least we know where their priorities lie.
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