Vatican rejects Mount Carmel group appeal to save church

By William T. Clew
The Catholic Free Press
The  Vatican Signatura, the Holy See’s highest court, has rejected appeals by the Mount Carmel Preservation Society aimed at saving Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church.
Msgr. F. Stephen Pedone, pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish at Our Lady of Loreto Church, said Bishop McManus was told of the Signatora’s decision when he visited the Vatican last month.
The bishop closed the church in 2016 and merged Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Our Lady of Loreto parishes last year. He also relegated the Mount Carmel Church building from “sacred to profane but not sordid use.”
A group of Mount Carmel parishioners and others formed the Mount Carmel Preservation Society and appealed the bishop’s actions to the Vatican. Their first appeal, to the Congregation of the Clergy, was rejected. They then appealed to the Signatora and were turned down again.
The Preservation Society now has appealed the Signatora’s rejection to the Congresso, a group of senior officials from the Signatora, Msgr. Pedone said.  He said the diocese is hoping for a decision by Christmas.
Msgr. Pedone said that, with the bishop’s approval, he has given permission to market the Mount Carmel property on Mulberry Street. The  property includes the church, the rectory, the Mount Carmel recreation center and a Little League baseball field. Money from the sale will pay off the parish debt to the Diocese of Worcester, the remainder will go to the parish.    
The F&D Truck Company of Millbury will remove the altar, pews and other items from the church, Msgr Pedone said. Last to be removed will be the stained glass windows.
He said the building is not safe and insurance regulations prohibit anyone, besides those authorized, from entering it. He said the last time he was in the building he was told not to walk down the center aisle because it was not safe to do so.
The church was built in 1928.  Over the years the building began to deteriorate. Interstate 290 passes within a few feet of the front of the church and the vibration of the heavy traffic may have added to the deterioration. Also, the neighborhood around the church has changed. It once had many residents of Italian heritage. As they moved away, church revenue fell. Msgr. Pedone said that before the parish closed expenses were about $9,000 a week and weekly offertory collections were about $4,000.
In 2007, a fund-raising campaign for repairs to the church set at $3.3 million brought in only $700,000 in pledges, Msgr. Pedone said. Another $1.5 million was needed for repairs to the recreation center, he said.
He said that in the 1960s a pastor talked about the deteriorating condition of the church and suggested that it be taken down. Two years ago it was discovered that the front facade was leaning toward Mulberry Street and needed to be removed, and the steeple/bell tower was deteriorating. The front door of the church was closed off. In 2011 water seeping into the building caused damage and a part of the ceiling fell into the choir loft.
    The Preservation Society had asked the Worcester Historical Commission to declare the area around the church property a historic district. The commission turned them down in January 2017 and again in February 2018.