Passersby reflect on Our Lady of Mount Carmel

By Tanya Connor and William T. Clew
 The Catholic Free Press
Lynn Assad wiped tears from her face after gazing at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church Wednesday, as workers prepared for its demolition.
She said she and her twin, Lisa Assad, came to say their goodbyes, and added, “it’s almost like attending a wake.”
“The church meant a lot to a lot of people,” Lynn Assad said. “It’s our roots.”
It “kept the community tight,” added her sister. “It brought people in from other neighborhoods” for Masses and summer youth programs.
The women said they were involved there, even while attending Sunday Mass at Our Lady of Mercy, the Maronite Church which was then on Mulberry Street too. Their father was Lebanese, their mother Italian.
“We had stronger ties to this parish” Lynn Assad said. Because that’s where they brought their children up.
Lynn said she transferred to the merged parish, Our Lady of Mount Carmel at Our Lady of Loreto Church, “because you need a place.” Her sister said she plans to too.
“They’re very welcoming, from what I hear,” she said.
Bishop McManus closed Our Lady of Mount Carmel in May 2016, due to safety concerns from structural issues, the estimated cost of rehabilitation and the parish’s inability to pay for it. Worship was moved to Our Lady of Loreto. In 2017 Bishop McManus merged the two Italian-American parishes.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church building remained closed as a private group called the Mount Carmel Preservation Society tried to save it. Recently Superior Court Judge Dennis M. Wrenn ruled against their last attempt to block demolition.
Saturday members of the society went inside the church, despite “no trespassing” signs, but exited before police arrived, said Msgr. F. Stephen Pedone. The pastor found about 10 people inside the church.
The group had held a prayer service outside and then some went in, said Msgr. Pedone and Mauro DePasquale, the society’s president.
Someone had cut the wire holding the gate in the fence around the church, Msgr. Pedone said.
Mr. DePasquale said the door was open. People were upset about the condition of the church inside, and many cried, he said.
Msgr. Pedone said he told the people in the church to leave and that they were trespassing and one said, “So what? This is our church.”
A man was trying to take a thermostat off the wall and others took pieces of marble, Msgr. Pedone said.
 Worcester police arrived quickly but the people had left the building and some were sitting in their cars, he said. Since police  did not see anyone in the church they could not charge anyone for trespassing, he said.
By Wednesday morning, F & D Truck Company Inc., which is doing the demolition, had gravel piled in front of the church to protect a gas main, and workers were still removing pieces of pews from inside.
Robert Snape, F & D equipment operator, called the demolition “pretty sad.”
“The first day it hurt me,” he said. “I used to come here … for a long time.” Then, he said, seeing the disarray he thought, “Better for it to come down before someone gets hurt.” He now belongs to St. Joseph Parish in Auburn, and goes to church where he feels comfortable.
Some people who came by to watch the workers shared their thoughts and feelings with The Catholic Free Press.
“This church could’ve been saved long ago,” Louis J. Cornacchioli said Wednesday. “The bishop’s office never helped us.
“My mother loved this church,” he said. “A month before she died I brought her here for a final Mass. … There were tears in her eyes.” (She wasn’t sick but was 94, he said.)
“This was a vibrant community,” he said, recalling the building and use of the recreation center.
Though his family moved to Rutland and St. Patrick Parish there, he’d contribute to Our Lady of Mount Carmel and attend Christmas Eve Mass there, he said.
“I was baptized here,” said a man who identified himself as Anthony and said he stopped going to church because of the priest scandal. “My parents were married here. We used to go to St. Ann’s (later merged with Our Lady of Mount Carmel). These same guys (F & D Truck Co.) knocked down St. Ann’s. That’s where I met them. I’d go watch them.”
He said his mother’s father donated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel when it was being built, and his name is one of those on a large plaque, which “should be put up somewhere.” His parents’ names are on a small marble plaque in the parish center, he said, adding that people were told they could buy their family’s plaques for $50, which he didn’t seem to think was fair.
Domenic Mercurio, now a member of the merged parish, was in Our Lady of Mount Carmel’s parking lot Monday for a beach bus trip with his wife and son. He said Joan D’Argenis, religious education director, periodically organizes such trips.     
“I didn’t sleep at all last night,” he said. “It’s a very bitter day. … This is hard because the Knights of Columbus started their council here. … My identity has always been based here.” He said he’s always been the Knights’ chancellor.
“It’s our church, but we’re not in charge,” he said. “We have to accept things. We have to stay united with our priest. It’s a building, but a lot of us have a hard time accepting that it’s only a building, because of the memories.”
Stopping to see what was happening at Our Lady of Mount Carmel this week, Michael Beaudry said he’d attended some Masses there, belonged to Christ the King Parish, and attends various churches now that he’s moved.
“I just think it’s a sad day,” he said. “And I believe the Church is losing a lot of money because … the young people aren’t attending Church like we did when we were young. They just don’t feel connected with the Church. …
“I think there’s a good portion that is the Church’s fault … because they have not moved forward. I think because of that and the abuse (scandal) … it’s causing (people) to find other options.”
Asked what he meant by not moving forward he said, “Maybe women should be able to be priests or assistant priests or at least be able to state their opinions and have votes in certain situations.”
“It’s a sad day when you’re taking down a church,” said Kathleen Coffey, a member of St. Peter Parish, who was waiting for a ride outside Our Lady of Mount Carmel Apartments where she lives. “I don’t want to be here when it goes on.”
“I’m OK with it,” Mary Chenaille, another resident of the apartments, said of the demolition. She said she was never a member of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, but was raised Catholic and is now a Quaker with Worcester Friends Meeting.
“It’s just in bad shape, parishioners have decreased, the funds aren’t there,” she said of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. “It’s time to say goodbye.”