Published: July 20, 2008 12:38 am            

RELIGION: Two Catholic churches learning to become one

NIAGARA FALLS — MERGED: St. John de LaSalle welcomes St. Charles Borromeo parishioners

at special Mass.

By Caitlin Murray

murrayc@gnnewspaper.com

Since it was announced months ago that churches around Niagara Falls would be closing, Catholics mourned the loss of their home parishes.

But for St. John de LaSalle, this weekend is about gain, not loss, as special ceremonies formally welcome dozen of new parishioners joining from the now-closed St. Charles Borromeo.

“I think that we’re going to have a much stronger parish now with them joined,” said Janet McMahon, a long-time parishioner of St. John de LaSalle. “We understand the emotional part of what the people of St. Charles are going through. We just hope they feel very welcome here.”

Saturday’s Mass was the first of three open ceremony Masses this weekend bringing elements of St. Charles Borromeo into St. John de LaSalle. Holy water from both churches was mixed together and blessed Saturday, signifying the new union. The Rev. Slawomir Siok dipped an aspergillum into the water and walked up and down the church aisles, sprinkling parishioners of both St. John and St. Charles.

“We united and merged as a parish three weeks ago, but today is a day to pray,” said Siok, who himself is newly assigned to St. John de LaSalle after having previously served at the now-closed Holy Trinity. “We will pray to be a strong, vibrant parish to the neighborhood of LaSalle.”

St. Charles held its last Mass three weeks ago before closing its doors as one of dozens of churches in Niagara Falls affected by the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo’s Journey in Faith and Grace consolidation plan. St. Charles was a 64-year-old congregation that started in 1944 as a Catholic mission and became a full parish in 1970.

Other closed churches have included Holy Trinity, St. George, Our Lady of the Rosary and Our Lady of Lebanon. They were combined into single parish at St. Stanislaus under the new name Divine Mercy. St. Teresa of the Infant Jesus and Sacred Heart have merged to form St. Raphael parish at the St. Teresa site.

For Antoinette Cacchio, it’s still going to take some time. She began coming to St. John de LaSalle after St. Charles closed, but it doesn’t feel like home yet. And it may never feel like home — despite orders from the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo for St. Charles Borromeo parishioners to merge with St. John, she and her husband may look elsewhere.

“We’ve been coming here the past couple weeks, but we don’t know where were going to go yet,” she said. “We’ve been going to St. Charles for 55 years. It’s a big change. We’re coming here until we decide what to do.”

Mary Ann and James Toole said the people of St. John de LaSalle have been very welcoming and treated them as if they were always members. But still, adapting after nearly 40 years at St. Charles has been tough.

“It was one of the hardest things I’ve had to go through, leaving that church,” Mary Ann said. “When I first came here, I cried.”

The couple’s children had been baptized and had their first communions at St. Charles. The news that the church would be closing was devastating.

“We just couldn’t believe it,” James said. “We didn’t like it. But we have to accept it.”

Ceremonies today at St. John will continue the welcome celebration for its new members. A statue of St. Charles will be brought up and placed permanently in the chapel. A social gathering with follow the Masses in St. John’s Parish Center, now renamed the St. Charles Center.

Joseph Giarrizzo, a long-time parishioner of St. John de LaSalle, is hopeful the new members at his home church will mean more volunteers and bigger celebrations.

“We’re all shrinking. The city is shrinking. Everything shrinking,” he said. “It’s hard to keep all these different places open. Hopefully, we’ll all get together, get some synergy from this and make it better.”

Jenny Fitz-Patrick, who has been coming to St. John de LaSalle for 44 years, was just as optimistic.

“The people from St. Charles are wonderful,” she said. “I’m very proud of the way our parish and St. Charles have worked together. I’m happy that they’re coming and I think they’ll be very happy here. We welcome them.”

Contact reporter Caitlin Murray

at 282-2311, ext. 2251.

        

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