Parishioners bid farewell to St. Michael the Archangel, other Catholic churches
Brad Hundt/Observer-Reporter
The Rev. Edward Yuhas, administrator of St. Katharine Drexel Parish, locks the door at St. Michael the Archangel Church at the conclusion of Saturday night’s Mass.
Brad Hundt/Observer-Reporter
David Smereczniak and Diana Furman hug one another near the conclusion of the final Mass at St. Michael the Archangel Church in East Bethlehem Township Saturday night.
Brad Hundt/Observer-Reporter
Parishioners file out of St. Michael the Archangel Church in East Bethlehem Township for the last time Saturday.
Brad Hundt/Observer-Reporter
Parishioners at St. Michael the Archangel Church in East Bethlehem Township receive a prayer card and medal at the church’s final Mass Saturday night.
FREDERICKTOWN – “The church is inside,” one parishioner was overheard reassuring another, but that sentiment didn’t stop tears from flowing Saturday night as St. Michael the Archangel had its final Mass in its 113-year history.
The sanctuary of the church on a hill that overlooks Fredericktown was packed with parishioners and community members who heard the Rev. Edward Yuhas, administrator of St. Katharine Drexel Parish, point out in a homily that the church could not be sustained due to declining population in the area, a declining number of Catholics and the costs of maintaining a building that is “aged and in need of major repairs.”
The church being shuttered is “not what we would have preferred,” Yuhas said. “We have feelings of sadness and disappointment that we have come to the place where we are today. … (But) no one can undo the beautiful memories created here.”
Parishioners of St. Michael the Archangel were not alone in feeling sadness and disappointment this weekend. It was one of four Catholic churches in the Mon Valley’s St. Katharine Drexel Parish to close Saturday or Sunday. The others were St. Joseph in Roscoe, St. Thomas Aquinas in California and Saints Mary & Ann in Marianna. The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh announced in early February it was closing four of the six churches in the parish due to “financial constraints faced by the parish.”
St. Katharine Drexel Parish was created a little more than two years ago as a result of the merger of the former St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Oliver Plunkett, Ave Maria, St. Agnes and St. Joseph parishes. Two other buildings in the parish – Ave Maria Church in Bentleyville, and St. Agnes Church in Centerville – will stay open.
The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh is in the midst of a considerable downsizing. Last April, Bishop David Zubik revealed plans to whittle the number of parishes in the diocese down to 57 by 2023. As of last year, it had 188. At the time of the announcement, the diocese said Mass attendance had fallen by 40 percent since 2000.
Despite the harsh realities facing St. Michael the Archangel, its end was still painful for Joanne Burkus, who attended the church for 40 years.
“The only constant in life is change, but it’s like losing a home,” she said.
The church’s demise was a particularly personal loss for sisters Diana Furman and Constance Furman Tuomi. Their grandfather was an original parishioner, having helped build the church after coming to the Fredericktown area from Europe.
“This is where my father was baptized,” Furman Tuomi said. “It’s a loss to the community.”
At the conclusion of the Mass, Yuhas asked everyone to leave the building, saying he would be the last to exit. Once outside, he locked the doors, and placed a rope around the door’s handles. The life of St. Michael the Archangel officially came to an end when he intoned, “I hereby declare this church is closed.”