Demolition begins on main part of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church

WORCESTER – Demolition of the main part of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church started Sept. 11 after workers had spent days carefully taking down the steeple.
    People complained that the church need not have been demolished, noted Justin Bowman, who’s working for F & D Truck Company Inc. through the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 4.
    “If you could only see how easy it’s coming down,” he said. “It definitely needed to come down. … It doesn’t take much for almost-100-year-old concrete to start to deteriorate.” And the brick isn’t mortared like it would be today, he said.
    “It’s heartbreaking,” said Mary Ann Bucciaglia, who stopped by Sept. 12 with her husband, Albert, to see the church. She said her brother-in-law texted them a photo and they saw something about the demolition on local television, so they came to see it themselves.
    “It the priests did their job when they saw the enrollment declining – why didn’t they go out and reach out to the people?” asked her husband. Asked if the laity did that, he said he didn’t know.
    “We’ve lost two beautiful churches now,” he said, noting that Notre Dame was demolished awhile ago and wondering what was gained. “It’s all about the money,” he said.
    His wife said churches in Italy which look like Our Lady of Mount Carmel are centuries old and still standing, but the couple couldn’t say if they were constructed the same way.
    Mrs. Bucciaglia said they met at the parish’s recreation center and have been married 51 years. As newlyweds, despite their own struggles, they pledged to help pay off the debt, and it was paid off, she said.
    She indicated that perhaps it would be easier to take the demolition if it was just her and her husband who had roots in the church, but their parents were married and buried there.
    “My grandfather, who came over from Italy, his name was on a plaque” the church had, she said.
    She said she and her husband were members until the church building was closed. Then, with no animosity, they looked to see what parish they would join, and settled on St. John’s, she said.

Demolition photos Sept. 12
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