Almost 10 years ago a sociology major at Columbia, Alejandra Oliva, made a study of parish closings for her senior thesis. She focussed on Our Lady Queen of Angels in East Harlem. Unfortunately her paper is still relevant today.
The Death and Resurrection of a
Church
Group Formation and Shifting Identity After
Parish Closure
Alejandra Oliva
Columbia University Department of Sociology
15 April 2015
Click here to download her senior thesis: The Death and Resurrection of a Church
I don't know who planned this, but God bless them. I am spreading the word:
Salient selection:
"Chany and Cornell filed legal proceedings with the Vatican to oppose the merger in 2016 and the deconsecration in 2017, arguing St. Elizabeth was a spiritual home to deaf Catholics.
The church held masses led by a pastor fluent in American sign language, along with a deaf choir.
hey also filed a civil action in Manhattan Supreme Court challenging the church’s sale to Saffayeh due to the ongoing Vatican cases.
On Thursday, a judge scheduled a July 17 court date for the civil action.
The fact that the parish is proceeding with demolition with no decision yet on the three-church merger, “it’s almost as if Cardinal Dolan is thumbing his nose at Pope Francis and the Vatican’s judicial system,” Chany said. “But the Supreme Court of the State of New York seems to be recognizing the Vatican’s authority.”
St. Elizabeth has been vacant since July 2015, Chany said, so “why rush to do this?”"
Read all about it: https://nypost.com/2024/06/15/us-news/ues-parish-jumps-gun-with-secret-demolition/
St. Mary's is a massive, beautiful and very old church literally in the heart of downtown Yonkers, NY. It houses a diverse and devout community descended from the vigorous and resilient immigrants that built the city over generations. After feting its 150th anniversary in person last October, Cardinal Dolan announced an intention to close it as of 7/1/2024. Yonkers native and author Patricia Vaccarino lays it out for us:
https://www.prforpeople.com/news/world-views/april-2024-magazine
