December 8, 200717 yr Post edited 9-4-09 to comply with terms of use - link inactive. www.catholicuniversebulletin.org
March 13, 200916 yr Since the closings will be annouced Saturday I figured it should have its own thread (unless of course the mods disagree!) Members of old, ethnic parishes in Cleveland Catholic Diocese fear the worst Bishop will announce closings this weekend, as congregations lose membership Monday, March 09, 2009 Robert L. Smith Plain Dealer Reporter The 10:30 a.m. Polish Mass at St. Casimir Church a week ago Sunday had the feel of something precious in peril. The sun beamed through stained-glass windows to bathe a sanctuary as big and as beautiful as any church in Poznan, the Old-World city for which the neighborhood was once known. More at cleveland.com http://www.cleveland.com/plaindealer/stories/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1236587430300620.xml&coll=2
March 13, 200916 yr Cleveland City Council looks to protect landmark churches' interiors Council seeks to shield buildings that are closed Thursday, March 05, 2009 Michael O'Malley Plain Dealer Reporter Faced with closings of Catholic churches in their neighborhoods, frustrated Cleveland council members Wednesday moved to toughen the city's historical-landmark law as a way to preserve the empty structures. Currently, the city's historical landmark law protects only exteriors of historic buildings, but a council committee voted to introduce by March 16 legislation to protect interiors of historical landmarks including closed churches. More at cleveland.com http://www.cleveland.com/plaindealer/stories/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1236245629286480.xml&coll=2
March 13, 200916 yr The church I attend and that my family has attended since my grandparents moved here from Slovakia in the 1920's is St. Procop on W.41st, just south of Clark. It was founded as a Bohemian Church built by the residents that first settled in that neighborhood. We were recommonded to close by our cluster but we had submitted a counter proposal. Our church does not have significant people in the pews, but we are self supporting. The old convent was renovated 8 years ago and is now used as a men's halfway house called Procop House that offers bi-weekly AA meetings, substance abuse counseling, assistance in job hunting, etc. The old school is used by a charter school and the top floor of the school is actually used by a Protestant church in the neighborhood for "kids church". Every friday St. Procop hosts a "community dinner" aka soup kitchen and also has a fully stocked food pantry at which during designated times anyone can ring the doorbell and have a bag of groceries for free. The sad thing is that if St. Procop closes - so do all these other things. We may only have 300 members, but we have no debt, we pay our bills, and truly help those in need. There is an emotional attachment to the church - but beyond that this church and many others throughout the city really are active beacons in their communities. It will be sad to see that go away.
March 13, 200916 yr Oh yea - St. Procop's Fish Fries were rated the Best Fish Fries in NEOhio by Channel 5 viewers last week - stop by this friday through April 3 to try for yourself. (the soup kitchen is on thursday's during lent b/c of the fish fries)
March 13, 200916 yr ^ I can sympathize with your situation. My fiancée teaches at Our Lady of Good Counsel which was recommended for closing by its cluster. It also submitted a counter proposal but I doubt it will do much good. OLGC doesnt have a huge membership but it does a lot for the community and it is financially solvent. It's really sad that Cleveland will lose so many churches.
March 14, 200916 yr The church I am a member of (and was married at this past summer), St. Stephen, was also recommended to close by the same cluster that St. Procop was in. Like St. Procop, St. Stephen is self-sustaining (no debt, all bills paid) and even has been around a $20,000 in the black the last couple years, even with some major repairs required (one due to lightning striking the tower). There is no financial reason for either of these churches to close. I know there is also the shortage of priests issue, but churches can always share priests and the diocese could also stop catering to suburban sprawl by placing multiple priests in suburban parishes, which rarely need them, as those parishes seem to be least active in the community (usually due to the fact that they have the lowest poverty rates). Of course, I am ignoring the personal and historical reasons these churches should stay open, but one of the main reasons the diocese is closing churches is finances, and financially these churches should stay open. Regardless of which churches close or stay open, this evening will be a sad one for many Catholics and lovers of architecture alike. Yes, if it's not apparent, I am upset and disappointed by my diocese, and I know I'm not the only one.
March 14, 200916 yr I cant believe St. Stephen is on the list. As you said St. Stephen is really a beautiful church and has amazing woodwork. It was my favorite interior from my sadred landmarks class. This is really sad stuff and troubling for the neighborhoods.
March 14, 200916 yr We should all know later tonight or tomorrow. Part of St. Stephen and St. Procop's cluster was St. Colman which the cluster decided to keep open - but according to Cleveland.com is set to close...that may mean the outcome of St. Procop and St. Stephen isn't as bleak as we originaly thought.
March 14, 200916 yr According to Cleveland.com - OLGC is staying open, Corpus Christi is merging with OLGC...not both merging with St. Leo's...looks like the Bishop did his homework concerning the cluster suggestions and not just going with what they said... ^ I can sympathize with your situation. My fiancée teaches at Our Lady of Good Counsel which was recommended for closing by its cluster. It also submitted a counter proposal but I doubt it will do much good. OLGC doesnt have a huge membership but it does a lot for the community and it is financially solvent. It's really sad that Cleveland will lose so many churches.
March 15, 200916 yr I was the organist and choir director at St. Christine's in late 1995, through 1996 before I moved to Cincinnati - sad to see it's on the list getting the ax...that's the only one closing that I know well.
March 15, 200916 yr Wow, St. Ignatius of Antioch on West Boulevard and St. Colman on West 65th are slated to close: I'm really shocked to see that St. James in Lakewood is slated to close as well: clevelandskyscrapers.com Cleveland Skyscrapers on Instagram
March 15, 200916 yr Wow, those are really visible, important neighborhood anchors. I can't imagine what we are going to do with those buildings now.
March 16, 200916 yr I go to St. James. Im devastated. That building is absolutely beautiful and if anything happens to it I will be very upset. St. James has been around for over 100 years. Think of all the change that has taken place in 100 years...yet that place stood strong and was a staple to this neighborhood. It was a symbol of love and stability and now they are taking it away. yesterday Father John started sobbing at the end of his homily and walked off the stage to a standing O. It was an emotional day, and I only hope this can be appealed. There is too much history there, not to mention is brings great foot traffic to this part of town.
March 16, 200916 yr I think its sad for everyone involved. Although somewhat expected, my church St. Procop is going to close. Our church has had a lot of news coverage this past weekend on all news stations in town. I'm actually getting married at St. Procop in June and it is likely that the Diocese will look to have most of these closed churches shutterd this year - not 2010. It is likely that after 145 years, me and my fiance will be the last marriage to take place in that building - it's weird to think that after countless numbers of weddings throughout 145 years, that we would be the last. At least we will have that special memory.
March 16, 200916 yr For the Cleveland folks, what is the density of parishes going to look like after this is done? Are we talking about 1 parish serving 1 mile catch-area or a 5 mile-catch area (which is what most exurban parishes serve) or something in between.
March 16, 200916 yr I go to St. James. Im devastated. That building is absolutely beautiful and if anything happens to it I will be very upset. St. James has been around for over 100 years. Think of all the change that has taken place in 100 years...yet that place stood strong and was a staple to this neighborhood. It was a symbol of love and stability and now they are taking it away. yesterday Father John started sobbing at the end of his homily and walked off the stage to a standing O. It was an emotional day, and I only hope this can be appealed. There is too much history there, not to mention is brings great foot traffic to this part of town. I admit I am puzzled by the St. James closing over St.Luke, or actually why they would close two churchs in Lakewood?
March 16, 200916 yr I really dont know. Lakewood is a really populated area, I cant imagine the suburban sprawl is affecting Lakewood like it is the inner city. The mass I would attended was normally at capacity.
March 16, 200916 yr I don't understand some of the church closings, but St. James in particular makes absolutely no sense. But when you look at who it was clustered with and the requirement from the Bishop that one of the three closed, it seems that Bishop Lennon set it up to fail for one reason or another. This whole thing smells.
March 16, 200916 yr someone on the cleveland.com comments said that St James needs a $200k roof. Not sure if its true or if its the reason it was chosen to close.
March 16, 200916 yr The roof makes sense, that was the only thing that I could come up with. St. James has a lot of buildings on it's campus and the Diocese just considered the upkeep to be too big of a liability. I know that both St. James and St. Lukes have large congregations with lots of families and kids. This not a case of 200 members.
March 16, 200916 yr I don't understand some of the church closings, but St. James in particular makes absolutely no sense. But when you look at who it was clustered with and the requirement from the Bishop that one of the three closed, it seems that Bishop Lennon set it up to fail for one reason or another. This whole thing smells. I usually loathe a conspiracy theory, but I believe that in some cases, congregations that were led by particularly activist pastors (those that buck the diocese party line) were targeted to lose their churches. Again, this is only based on my own observations, but out of the ten or so churches that I've attended over the years, the ones that did not stay in lock-step with the diocese were the ones eliminated (even against the suggestions made by the clusters to remain open).
March 16, 200916 yr For the Cleveland folks, what is the density of parishes going to look like after this is done? Are we talking about 1 parish serving 1 mile catch-area or a 5 mile-catch area (which is what most exurban parishes serve) or something in between. It will still be very dense. Many of the churches that are closing are within a half-mile of another catholic church. There are a few that are across the street from another catholic church. The immigrant groups all started churches that catered to their own ethnic groups--that's why there were so many in the urban core.
March 16, 200916 yr The roof makes sense, that was the only thing that I could come up with. St. James has a lot of buildings on it's campus and the Diocese just considered the upkeep to be too big of a liability. I know that both St. James and St. Lukes have large congregations with lots of families and kids. This not a case of 200 members. I think that the city of lakewood owns some of those buildings already.
March 16, 200916 yr Even if a community's population is still strong, the declining number of Catholics in Greater Cleveland is a big factor. The parishes just aren't as large as they used to be. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
March 17, 200916 yr Even if a community's population is still strong, the declining number of Catholics in Greater Cleveland is a big factor. The parishes just aren't as large as they used to be. The parish does not play as central of a role as it used to. People don't go to mass as "religiously" as they used to.
March 17, 200916 yr someone on the cleveland.com comments said that St James needs a $200k roof. Not sure if its true or if its the reason it was chosen to close. just came back from a parish meeting at st. james. apparently, prior to the creation of the clusters, the bishop enacted a moratorium on the renovation of church buildings until a determination has been made as to whether a church will be closing or remaining open. thus, st. james was prevented from repairing their roof despite the fact that the church was able to raise over $300,000. in funds specifically for the roof. also, st. james is appealing the decision, as are a few other parishes. parishioners spoke at the meeting for over an hour and a half. it looks like the bishop will be receiving quite a bit of mail in the next few weeks
March 17, 200916 yr Vonbonroy-Great to hear they will appeal! I didnt think they would. I almost went to the meeting tonight, but I had too much work to do...that absolutely had to be done. By the tone of Father John yesterday i thought it was a lost cause...but if we are allowed to fight for it, it has my support 100%.
March 17, 200916 yr Church clustering resolution brings tears, hugs, shock Sunday, March 15, 2009 1:00 AM EDT By ALAN INGRAM and RON VIDIKA [email protected] LORAIN — Several Lorain churches and two more in Elyria will close, as Cleveland Catholic Diocese Bishop Richard Lennon revealed his church clustering plan yesterday. Parishioners learned of Lennon's decision during masses yesterday. The churches will close by June 30, 2010... Post edited 9-4-09 to comply with terms of use http://morningjournal.com/articles/2009/03/15/news/mj754098.prt ===================================================================================================================== Priests react to news of parish mergers, closings Monday, March 16, 2009 7:31 AM EDT By RON VIDIKA [email protected] LORAIN — Two priests with a lifetime of service to their parishes said they knew this day was coming. Over the weekend, Bishop Richard Lennon's letter on church closings and mergers was read from the pulpit of each of the 224 churches in the Cleveland Catholic Diocoese, of which Lennon is the spiritual leader. "We'll try to stay as long as we can," said the Rev. Simon Nekic of himself and the 150 members at St. Vitus Croatian Church, 1785 E. 32nd St., Lorain... Post edited 9-4-09 to comply with terms of use http://morningjournal.com/articles/2009/03/16/news/mj757341.prt ============================================================================================================ Cause for concern: Many critical of decision to close, merge churches Tuesday, March 17, 2009 11:56 AM EDT By RON VIDIKA [email protected] LORAIN — Reactions to Bishop Richard Lennon’s weekend letter on church closings and mergers range from a letter-writing campaign to a single letter being written by a local pastor, all critical of the bishop’s decision... Post edited 9-4-09 to comply with terms of use URL: http://www.morningjournal.com/articles/2009/03/17/news/doc49bf274dc0ca6968527171.prt
March 17, 200916 yr News in Cleveland even made the Boston Globe: http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles_of_faith/2009/03/in_ohio_echoes.html
March 17, 200916 yr Request. When posting, PLEASE post articles along with the link. Links dont' stay live for a long time.
March 17, 200916 yr Someone should document these closed churches before they close: pix of the interior, nave/altar/side altars, and the exterior.
March 17, 200916 yr A preview of three South Lorain churches to be closed or merged: St Ladislaus (Hungarian) - CLOSING St Vitus (Croatian) - MERGING with St John at St John's location Sts Cyril and Methodius (Slovenian) - MERGING with St John at St John's location and three that will stay open: St John ? (I had to look twice to see which finger was being given) Capilla de Sagrado Corazon/Sacred Heart Chapel St Vincent de Paul (Elyria Twp.)
April 21, 200916 yr St. Ladislaus has October closing date Tuesday, April 21, 2009 By RON VIDIKA [email protected] LORAIN — St. Ladislaus Church, Lorain, is likely to close its doors Oct. 11. The 105-year-old church at 1412 E. 29th St. plans to have a prayer service Oct. 10 presided by its pastor, the Rev. James P. Schmitz, followed by a catered dinner. On Oct. 11, Bishop Richard Lennon has been invited to preside at a 10 a.m. Mass. The announcement came in the church's Sunday bulletin... Post edited 9-4-09 to comply with terms of use URL: http://www.morningjournal.com/articles/2009/04/21/news/mj926083.prt © 2009 morningjournal.com, a Journal Register Property ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Some photos of St. Ladislaus Church: http://web.mac.com/frjps/St._Ladislaus/Historical_Pictures.html#grid http://web.mac.com/frjps/St._Ladislaus/Tour_of_the_Church.html
May 2, 200916 yr Bishop Richard Lennon reconsiders; St. Colman Catholic Church to remain open Posted by dsims May 02, 2009 00:10AM Gus Chan/The Plain DealerServer Adam Sanders assists during a March 14 Mass at St. Colman Catholic Church on Cleveland's near West Side. Cleveland Catholic Bishop Richard Lennon, who as bishop of Boston did not reverse a single order when he closed churches there, has granted a stunning reprieve to a beloved church on Cleveland's near West Side. More at cleveland.com http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/05/bishop_richard_lennon_reconsid.html
May 2, 200916 yr Tim Barrett will be conducting tours of St. Ignatius and St. James churches on May 9 (see article below). The Bishop has decided the two churches shall close. I have been in St. James and certainly recommend touring its magnificent interior. Also, it is always worth hearing Tim Barrett talk of Cleveland history and architecture. The Ohio and Erie Chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America will give a free guided tour of St. James Cathedral, 17514 Detroit Ave. in Lakewood, at 10 a.m. May 9. More at cleveland.com http://blog.cleveland.com/westsidesunnews/2009/05/free_guided_tours_of_st_james.html
May 2, 200916 yr LOL, you just beat me to this MTS. I came on here specifically to post that article. This is excellent news.
May 2, 200916 yr LOL, you just beat me to this MTS. I came on here specifically to post that article. This is excellent news. I'm happy. Now if they would cancel those new outer lying churches. I'm not 100% catholic but I dont wan to see those churches empty.
May 2, 200916 yr CLEVELAND -- St. Ignatius of Antioch Catholic Church will remain open, parishoners were told Saturday evening. St. Ignatius of Antioch will remain open The news drew a standing ovation from about 200 people at Mass Saturday evening. The church on Lorain Avenue, near West Boulevard, was slated to be closed as part of the Cleveland Catholic Diocese's plan to consolidate parishes in response to shifting demographics. More at cleveland.com http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/05/st_ignatius_of_antioch_will_re.html
May 3, 200916 yr Excellent news about St Colman and St Ignatius; losing St James is still sad.....I've attended all 3 and it seemed to me that parish was the most vibrant of the 3.....still, great news about Colman's and Ignatius!
May 4, 200916 yr Holy Cross shuts its doors after Mass Steve Fogarty | The Chronicle-Telegram ELYRIA — Despite some tears and a sense of resignation to the inevitable, the message Sunday was one of hope from Bishop Richard Lennon, who officiated at the final Mass at Holy Cross Church... Post edited 9-4-09 to comply with terms of use Contact Steve Fogarty at 329-7146 or [email protected]. http://www.chroniclet.com/2009/04/28/holy-cross-shuts-its-doors-after-mass/
June 23, 200915 yr Tourists admire St. Casimir Catholic Church before it closes its doors Posted by Robert L. Smith/Plain Dealer Reporter June 22, 2009 21:25PM Categories: Real Time News, Religion CLEVELAND — Sightseers are something new to members of St. Casimir Catholic Church. In fact, it's been awhile since their landmark church drew any kind of attention at all. They're doing what they can to accommodate the tourists who have descended since the bishop decreed there is no room for St. Casimir in a smaller, leaner Cleveland Catholic Diocese. More at cleveland.com http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/06/tourists_admire_st_casimir_cat.html
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