Preservationists Put Mass. Catholic Churches on `Endangered’ List

c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) More than three dozen Catholic churches in the Archdiocese of Boston that are slated to be closed were placed Thursday (June 2) on a national endangered species list of historically significant buildings. The Washington-based National Trust for Historic Preservation called for the protection of about half of the nearly […]

c. 2005 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) More than three dozen Catholic churches in the Archdiocese of Boston that are slated to be closed were placed Thursday (June 2) on a national endangered species list of historically significant buildings.

The Washington-based National Trust for Historic Preservation called for the protection of about half of the nearly 80 churches that are scheduled to be shuttered or consolidated as part of a massive parish-closing program.


Wendy Nicholas, the Trust’s Northeast regional director in Boston, said the Bay State churches are just the first round of what could be a nationwide flood of church closings as shrinking dioceses, particularly in the Northeast, consolidate.

For better or worse, other cash-strapped dioceses could look to Boston for guidance on how to dispose of church property they can no longer afford, Nicholas said.

“We’re very proud of our history and heritage here in Massachusetts,” she said. “The historic churches of all faiths represent our history, and embody our architectural treasures, and the history and aspirations of generations of Massachusetts residents.”

The designation was included as part of the Trust’s list of 11 “Most Endangered Historic Places” across the country. Other sites, which were not ranked in any particular order, included historic buildings in downtown Detroit, the Daniel Webster Farm in Franklin, N.H., and King Island along the Alaskan coast.

The Trust cited not only the churches’ religious significance, but also their value to the community as neighborhood anchors and service centers.

The threatened churches were nominated by Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin, a parishioner at Our Lady of the Presentation Church in Brighton, which is on the list of churches to be closed.

Last year, citing dwindling worshippers and a shortage of priests, Boston Archbishop Sean O’Malley announced plans to close or merge nearly 80 of the 357 parishes in the archdiocese. Bowing to upset parishioners, O’Malley later agreed to reconsider some closings, but insisted the process will continue.


Lay activists are currently holding round-the-clock vigils in at least eight parishes that are scheduled to close. The archdiocese did not return calls for comment.

Nicholas said half of the parishes slated to be closed hold special significance for their historical or architectural status, but 19 parishes in 14 cities and towns are especially noteworthy.

They are churches like Sacred Heart in Lawrence, with its imposing stone facade and belltower; or Infant Jesus-St. Lawrence in Brookline, built in 1896, whose Tudor facade recalls a Swiss chateau; or St. Margaret’s in Beverly, built in 1887, with unique architecture that faintly resembles a windmill missing its sails.

Nicholas said she understands the pressures facing the archdiocese, but urged church leaders to sell only to buyers who promise not to raze the buildings but instead convert them into other uses, such as housing, offices or restaurants.

“You end up losing some or much of the interior, but at least the building is still standing, and the tower, dome or spire still punctuates the skyline and serves as a beacon in those neighborhoods,” she said.

Lay activists hope the designation will help them save their beloved churches, although they say they are more concerned with communities than buildings. Some parishes have applied for landmark status in a bid to save the churches.


Peter Borre, co-chair of the fledgling Council of Parishes that is coordinating the vigils, said the designation is important but “peripheral to the real problem. The vigiling that Catholics are doing is claiming spiritual ownership of their parishes,” he said.

Suzanne Morse, a spokeswoman for Boston-based Voice of the Faithful, a lay reform movement that emerged after the clergy sexual abuse scandal, said the designation is “bittersweet” because she said the archdiocese has not shown similar interest in the region’s “spiritual heritage.”

“The archdiocese has said all along that it isn’t about the buildings, and that’s something we can all agree on _ it isn’t about the buildings, it’s about the communities,” she said. “But there’s something about the historical importance of the archdiocese in the Catholic history of this country that this designation is speaking to.”

MO/PH END ECKSTROM

Editors: Check the RNS photo Web site at https://religionnews.com for photos of some of the churches considered endangered.

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