ADAMS, Mass. — What began as concerns over peeling paint inside Notre Dame Church turned out to be a much larger issue, as the church is now closed indefinitely after inspections revealed structural damage, particularly in the steeple.

 

Notre Dame des Sept Douleurs Catholic Church, located at 21 Maple St., has been taped off and closed since last week as the Diocese of Springfield assesses water damage affecting several areas of the building.

 

"There are multiple issues ... but the long and short of it is that there's been a water breach in a number of locations at the church, [compromising] some of the structures. The steeple clearly has been negatively impacted by this water breach, and so they're looking at the steeple as one potential major issue," said Mark Dupont, Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield's director of communications.

 

"A lot of the other ones are not to that level, but taken as a whole, they might be problematic in the long run. This church is well over 100 years old and has served that community with great distinction over the years, but unfortunately, sometimes our past history with these churches is that they quickly become very costly when they start having issues." 

 

The church was built around 1882 to serve the area's French-speaking residents and is one of the two churches part of the St. John Paul II Parish and St. Stanislaus in Adams, Dupont said. The Catholic Parishes of Adams and Cheshire includes St. Mary of the Assumption in Cheshire

Parish staff were concerned about possible water intrusion and hired a structural mason to inspect the steeple and possibly do some repairs. The hired mason found broken beams.

However, the inspection revealed more extensive damage to the steeple than initially anticipated, prompting parish staff to immediately contact the Diocese of Springfield and close the church, Dupont said. 

 

A more comprehensive inspection is now underway to determine the full extent of the damage and what it could mean for the future of the church, he said. 

 

"We're reserving judgment right now," Dupont said, adding that officials want to make an informed decision after reviewing the findings.

 

While Notre Dame is closed, Masses have been moved to St. Stanislaus Kostka Church and St. Mary's Church. The parish also has its annual Fall Fest Bazaar on Oct. 11, which is now planned to take place in the school behind the church, Dupont said. 

 

"Notre Dame is the oldest church. It's even older than St. Thomas' Church, which we stopped using many years ago," he said. 

 

The concerns around the church's structure also come at a time when the diocese is undergoing a strategic realignment initiative, during which it is looking at its resources and determining the best way to minister to the Catholic community in Western Massachusetts, Dupont said.

 

"We know in the short term we're going to have a continuing decline in priests, but we need to see how we can best sort of utilize the facilities where they're located in such a manner that it is conducive to continuing the Catholic faith and our presence here in Western Massachusetts," he said.  

 

For many years, the Catholic Church flourished in Western Massachusetts as immigrants brought strong religious traditions and established growing Catholic communities. Over time, however, Mass attendance and participation in church life declined, Bishop William Byrne said in the diocese's Strategic Realignment Initiative video. 

 

"Since becoming your bishop, I have made it a point to visit all the parishes of our diocese multiple times, and everywhere I have gone, I was greeted cordially by parishioners with great pride for their parish, but also with great concern about the future," he said. 

 

"I also witnessed how resources are spread so thinly across Western Massachusetts. It became apparent that we could benefit by undertaking an effort to identify how each can support the future mission of the Catholic Church here in Western Massachusetts." 

 

The Diocese of Springfield is facing a growing shortage of priests to serve its 76 parishes, nine missions and two parish chapels. Of its 65 active diocesan priests, 34 are aged 60 or older and 14 are already eligible for retirement, Byrne said. 

 

Although vocations have increased, the diocese expects the number of active priests to continue declining while new candidates complete the years-long formation process, he said. 

 

The initiative involves 60 parishes across Western Massachusetts. The process brings parishioners together to evaluate their parish's strengths, weaknesses and needs and consider different ways neighboring parishes could share clergy, ministries, resources and facilities.

 

"I want to make it clear that the Strategic Realignment Initiative's objective is not to close churches," Byrne said. 

 

The parishes will develop recommendations through facilitated meetings and discussions with neighboring Catholic communities. Those recommendations are expected to be submitted to the bishop's office by late November.