Sale of Mount Carmel property moves ahead

By Catholic Free Press

There is a buyer for the 5.3 acres where Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church stood and where its former parish center still stands, Msgr. F. Stephen Pedone, pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel/Our Lady of Loreto Parish, told The Catholic Free Press Tuesday. He said he hopes to bring the sale of the property bounded by Mulberry Street and East Central Street to a conclusion in the next few months.
Restrictions prevent him from revealing the buyer’s name, plans for the property or the sale price, he said. But because the asking price is more than $3 million, the transaction had to be submitted to the Congregation for the Clergy at the Vatican, which granted approval to sell, he said.
A settlement with the state, signed by Bishop McManus last month, was “huge” in moving the process along, Msgr. Pedone said, and explained it as follows.
Among the parcels that make up the 5.3-acre site is the one where the parish center, ball field and part of the parking lot are. That parcel was deeded to the Diocese of Springfield by the state for $1 in 1947 (before Worcester became a diocese), with the stipulation that that property would revert to the state if the church tried to sell it to anyone except a religious or youth sports entity. That is why the center and ball field were erected there, Msgr. Pedone said.
The parish’s attorneys maintained that the so-called reverter clause had expired because of subsequent law, but the state said it still applied, Msgr. Pedone explained. So, to avoid extended, expensive litigation, the parish came to an agreement, called a settlement: The state’s Division of Capital and Asset Management and Maintenance agreed not to enforce the reverter clause and the parish agreed to give the state $800,000 after the property is sold. Of that money, $150,000 is to go to the City of Worcester.