Manhattan Parish Fights for Survival

The Wall Street Journal ^ | 4/26/15 | Melanie Grayce West

[marshmallow]

They gathered for an early celebration of a centennial that may never arrive.

Hundreds of parishioners of Our Lady of Peace strolled through Manhattan’s Upper East Side on Sunday clutching pictures of the ancestors who founded this Roman Catholic parish in 1918.

They donned bright blue sashes with the names of those Irish and Italian founders: Scudellari, Iacovone, Tauriello, O’Keefe and many more. Young and old feasted on antipasti, pizza, tiramisu, Irish beer and Italian wine.

This lovingly maintained Victorian Gothic church—with its colorful painting of Madonna and child, ornate Murano glass chandeliers, pews adorned with golden grape clusters and full coffers—is set to be closed in August by the Archdiocese of New York.

But parishioners aren’t going down without a fight.

Our Lady of Peace is among at least 100 parishes that the archdiocese intends to consolidate with another, or effectively close, by August as part of a reorganization announced in November.

There are 368 parishes in the archdiocese’s region, which stretches from Staten Island to Saugerties, N.Y.

Our Lady of Peace is one of the few parishes whose appeal has successfully reached the Congregation for the Clergy, a Vatican office that handles issues concerning parishes and priests. The appeal seeks to reverse the archdiocese’s decision that would force Our Lady of Peace to merge with another parish.

They are expecting the next word on that appeal sometime in June.

Maria Lucia Raia, an 80-year-old parishioner who was born in the East 62nd Street apartment where she now resides, was baptized at Our Lady of Peace. It is the only church she and other elderly parishioners can easily attend because it is in walking distance from their homes. Before Sunday’s Mass, she had strong words for Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York.

“The cardinal is depriving me....

[Albion Wilde]

Ping!

[eastsider]

Our Lady of Peace has all-night First Friday Exposition with confession leading into First Saturday morning Mass. The parish is rock solid in the faith and economically viable. Why the Archdiocese would want to close it down is beyond me. I love that little church.

If you live in NYC or are visiting, please consider dropping by Our Lady of Peace and signing the petition. The church is located on the north side of east 62nd Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues.

[PAR35]

Is this parish self-supporting?

“The archdiocese spends some $40 million a year to keep struggling parishes afloat, officials have said.”

Do the “Hundreds of parishioners” attend services weekly at that parish?

A poorly written story by historic WSJ standards.

[Batman11]

PFL

[Alex Murphy]

Is this parish self-supporting? “The archdiocese spends some $40 million a year to keep struggling parishes afloat, officials have said.”Do the “Hundreds of parishioners” attend services weekly at that parish?

I had similar thoughts. The archdiocese wants to close or consolidate about a quarter of the parishes. Why keep this one and not another?

[Mrs. Don-o]

My heart hurts when I read stories like this. The parish is financially in the black. It is beautifully maintained. It is a gem. And it is the moral and cultural property whose families have sacrificed for generations to make this parish "a living sacrifice of praise" to Almighty God.

It's a shame that when Cardinal Dolan won't listen to loyal, loving parishioners, the only hope left is the clerical bureaucracy in Rome and the Wall Street Journal.