St. Brigid's - A Blessing for Another Church As Yet Unsaved

Judge Keeps Temporary Restraining Order in Place for St. Bridgid's

I had hoped that my first post in this blog would be about Our Lady of Vilnius, but I felt it was best to draw attention to the canary in the Archdiocesan coal mine.

On July 30, 2005 New York Times columnist Dan Barry described the parish's predicament in  "A Prayer for a Church Unsaved". The tale of St. Brigid's is a long and convoluted one.

The structure of this historic church built by Irish shipwrights was allowed to deteriorate to the point where occupancy was unsafe. The church was closed, but the parish persisted, holding Mass in another building on the site. The parishioners, now mostly Latino, formed a Committee to save their church. The descendants, actual and spiritual, of the Irish who founded the parish and built the church jumped on board. This dedicated group of people has staved off the wrecking ball, which actually took one whack at the structure. Demolition was halted by a restraining order, which the judge ruled to keep in place for the time being.

Prayers and best wishes for all who love St. Brigid's on today's ephemeral, but important triumph. It is a morale boost to all of us who love our endangered churches and parishes.