Bishop Hopes Closings Reinvigorate Parishes

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
08:36PM / Monday, August 11, 2008Print Story | Email Story

The new parish in Adams will be named for Pope John Paul II.

NORTH ADAMS — Diocesan officials are hoping for a renewed sense of purpose and vitality in local parishes after the latest round of church closings were announced this weekend.

"I really want to be building up a church, not a church building," said Bishop Timothy A. McDonnell of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, adding it was important to build "critical mass at Mass."

McDonnell, speaking at a press conference in Springfield, said the consolidation will help in bringing congregants together, sparking what he hopes will be "a new dynamic, a new sense of possibility ... because we are going to be focusing on people."

Both Adams and North Adams each have three remaining churches that will merge into one parish, and into one building, for each community — St. Anthony of Padua in North Adams and Notre Dame des Sept Dolours in Adams. The consolidation reflects the drop in attendance and the difficulty in finding priests — both communities have had one priest for three churches for several years now.

Those attending Mass over the weekend were read a letter from McDonnell that laid out plans for closing and reorganizing parishes within their regions. The changes in four of the diocese's 10 regions are to go into effect Jan. 1, 2009.

St. Francis' Church, North Adams' oldest Catholic Parish, is scheduled for closure.

Among those facing closure are St. Francis of Assisi and and Our Lady of Mercy in North Adams; St. Stanislaus Kostka and St. Thomas in Adams and the small North American Martyrs in Lanesborough. Also affected are parishes in Housatonic (All Saint's and Corpus Christi will merge into one building as Mother Teresa of Calcutta), St. Joseph's in Stockbridge may become a mission to St. Mary's in Lee, and Our Lady of the Valley in Sheffield could lose its assigned priest.

St. Stanislaus Kostka School in Adams will remain open.

Msgr. John J. Bonzagni, director of pastoral planning, said the diocese will maintain the closed buildings until they can be sold. The assets will remain with the parishes to help them meet their needs. The bishop said about 40 percent of the parishes are operating in the red.

The parish consolidation has been going on for some years as the diocese has been forced to deal with dwindling congregations and rising costs. Notre Dame Parish in North Adams was closed and the buildings sold within the last few years. Williamstown's Parish of Sts. Patrick's and Raphael's is selling St. Raphael's Church on Cole Avenue and six of Pittsfield's 10 churches will close.

A communicant of more than 30 years at St. Francis said there was only silence on Sunday as parishioners were told that the historic church would close for good by the end of the year.

McDonnell said a number of factors were taken into account in deciding which churches would close and which would stay open. Some of the recommendations came from the Mullin Report, a survey of the diocese performed by the University of Massachusetts' Center for Economic Development and released in early 2007. However, the bishop stressed that the overriding criteria were ecclesial, pastoral and ethereal.

The final recommendations were made by the Pastoral Planning Committee after discussions with clergy and parish representatives. This announcement pertained to four of the dioceses' 10 regions. The diocese is only halfway "through a very difficult process," said spokesman Mark E. DuPont.

The closures in North County will erase in large part the ethnic heritage that had imbued these parishes, which were as often referred to as the Polish church or the Italian church, for example, as by their proper names. That heritage was kept in mind, said McDonnell, when determining the names of the new parishes.

Church officials hope to salve sting of losing the 103-year-old St. Stanislaus Kostka Church by naming the new parish for Pope John Paul II, the first Polish pope immortalized in bronze outside St. Stan's doors. St. Anthony's will be renamed for St. Elizabeth of Hungary, a noble of the Middle Ages who was a follower and supporter of the Franciscan order. St. Anthony, of course, was a protege of St. Francis.

To see the annotations explaining this video, click on it to watch it from the YouTube site. Apologies for the inconvenience but this is a YouTube technical issue.

But St. Francis' Parish is the city's oldest, established in 1863, and the church's spire rises high above the entrance to the city along Route 2. McDonnell acknowledged its importance as a landmark but said it came down to which church was more economically feasible. St. Francis requires structural and other work in excess of $1 million while St. Anthony's, although smaller, was recently refurbished.

St. Anthony's also is situated on level ground (St. Francis' is on a hill) and includes the St. Anthony Parish Center with its gymnasium and classrooms used by a number of civic and community groups.

McDonnell called on church members to remember that their ancestors had come from far away to build communities and worship together, that they were pilgrims and pioneers. The buildings may be lost but the memories aren't, he said.

"We need to build new communities to take their place," said McDonnell.

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Time for a new bishop...or to convert to a religion that doesn't close its places of worship on a regular basis. Also, I'd like to know who the "parishoners" were that apparently helped make these decisions...
from: Adams Churchgoer	on: 08-11-2008 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

Thanks to the iBerkshires link I read the Mullin Report for this region. What happened to their suggestions? Oh that's right, the announcement of the changes was in Springfield (not the Berkshires where the changes were being made) were also based on ethereal, pastoral and ecclesial inputs....poppycock! Whatâ€™s in a name? Heritage and community pride are the basis for a successful name and of course they thought of that based on a large Hungarian presence in the Northern Berkshire area (oh by the way that was sarcasm). The Bishopâ€™s counsels are out of touch with the Berkshires but heck this place and its people are small potatoes in the overall business scheme of the Catholic religion.
from: Perplexed	on: 08-12-2008 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

Unfortunately, the church is not subject to any form of public information rule. It's doubtful you will ever know who your "representatives" were. As much as the church wants you to believe this was a decision based on the communal well-being of Berkshire county, it's all about the diocesan financials...period! As I stated in other posts, prove to us otherwise buy offering to sell the church/parish grounds to each community or a community group for $1.00 as an act of "good faith" if the buildings aren't important and it's not about the money.
from: Adams Citizen	on: 08-13-2008 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

To shutter the doors of St. Stanislaus in Adams, one of the most beautiful churches in the Berkshires and probably in the entire State of Massachusetts is an abomination -- to be blunt about it. The church was substantially renovated to celebrate it's 100 anniversary, and even with that investment, the Diocesan decision makers chose to close the facility -- but keep the school open. Why not close Notre Dame in Adams? No architectural gem there -- remember when they took all the statues out. How sad that those in Springfield cannot understand what this means to the considerable Polish population in Adams and to the community itself. Then, again, I always felt we were neglected by the Diocesan officials in Springfield. I guess this further proves the point. A sad day for Adams.
from: Former St. Stan's Parishioner and Resident	on: 09-04-2008 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

the only thing the bishop has done is allienate the community from its polish heritage and catholic faith ...shame on him
from: micky	on: 12-29-2008 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

Berkshires Remember First Responders, Military Personnel Lost at 9/11 and Aftermath

By Jack Guerino & Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
02:30PM / Friday, September 11, 2026

North Adams Mayor Jennifer Macksey, with Fire Chief Brent Lefebvre speaks at Friday's memorial.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The county's two cities held memorials on Friday morning to mark the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

Great Barrington was scheduled to hold a dedication of piece of steel from the World Trade Center at 6 p.m.

North Adams held its ceremony in the fire station's side garden starting at exactly 8:46 a.m., the time Flight 11 crashed into the World Trade Center's North Tower.

The small square of grass was packed with police officers, firefighters, wire and alarm personnel, dispatchers, and Northern Berkshire EMS employees, and city employees, officials and community members.

After the ceremonial tolling of the bell, an honor guard presented the colors.

Mayor Jennifer Macksey said it felt odd welcoming people to a very solemn event.

"What happened 25 years ago put a mark on emergency services. It put additional pressure on police, fire, EMS, and dispatchers," Macksey said. "While we remember those who lost their lives during 9/11, and those who ran to help as many as they could during 9/11, we have to pause and appreciate those who continue to serve despite that awful threat that occurred 25 years ago."

She said it was a direct attack on the United States and all of its people.

"It was a question of our freedoms and our ability to be safe in our communities," the mayor said. "I can say today that here in North Adams, it could happen to us, but I know with the professionalism of our Fire Department, Police Department, EMS, and our dispatch team, we are a better community; we are a safer community than we were 25 years ago."

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