Holy Trinity parish, Boston, to close, and Traditional Latin Mass community to move to Mary Immaculate of Lourdes Parish in Newton Upper Falls

A representative of Sean Cardinal O'Malley met with Holy Trinity parishioners on Sunday afternoon, November 26, 2006, yesterday. Here is the press release from the Committee to Preserve Holy Trinity Parish:

Holy Trinity Parish To Merge with Cathedral of the Holy Cross

BOSTON November 26 Saying, "It is the Cardinal's view, and my personal view, that the mission of this beautiful church is over," Father Mark O'Connell announced this afternoon Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley's plan to merge Holy Trinity Parish in Boston's South End with the nearby Cathedral of the Holy Cross.

The merger means that the money and records "stay here," according to Father O'Connell, instead of becoming assets of the Archdiocese. The fate of the parishioners of Holy Trinity will be as follows:

The Latin Mass will be moved to Mary Immaculate of Lourdes Parish in Newton Upper Falls. Father O'Connell will inform parishioners there of the plan when he announces the Cardinal's proposal for reconfiguration in Newton tonight at 7:15 PM at St. Philip Neri Church on Beacon Street in Waban. According to a published report in the Newton Tab, St. Philip Neri and Mary Immaculate of Lourdes will merge, with the latter being the surviving church building. The Korean Catholic Community, which is part of St. Philip Neri, is also expected to join Mary Immaculate. Father O'Connell also announced to Holy Trinity parishioners that Father Charles J. Higgins will be named as pastor of Mary Immaculate of Lourdes. Currently stationed at St. Theresa of Avila Parish in West Roxbury, Father Higgins celebrates the Latin High Mass each month and, because of his personal interest in traditional liturgy and spirituality, is extremely popular with Latin Mass parishioners.

Father Harry Kaufman will become the chaplain of the German parishioners, replacing the church building as the anchor of the German Catholic community. Father Kauffman is popular with the German parishioners because he was a member of the community before his ordination to the priesthood in 2002. He is a Parochial Vicar at Sacred Heart Parish in Weymouth.

The two social service agencies hosted by Holy Trinity, the Cardinal Medeiros Center for homeless older adults and the Bridge Over Troubled Waters residence for at-risk youth, will still be expected to move. Bridge will "stay put" until they find a new home. The Archdiocese plans to assist the Cardinal Medeiros Center with a proposed move to Our Lady of Victories Church on Isabella Street in the South End.

The church building of Holy Trinity will return to the Cathedral; it will be the responsibility of the rector of the Cathedral to decide what to do with the church.

Father O'Connell noted that the plan is what Cardinal O'Malley wants to do but is not a final decision. While Father O'Connell gave no timeline for implementation of the plan, he noted that, if the plan goes forward as announced, the Latin Mass would be the first to leave Holy Trinity, early in 2007.

The hour-long presentation was followed by another hour of questions and commentary from parishioners, who, while calm and respectful, generally opposed the plan. A closing statement by George Krim, the 80-year-old Music Director Emeritus and a parishioner since the age of 4, may well summarize their thoughts. "Go back to the Cardinal and tweak his plan. There's a fervor here, unique in the Archdiocese, of two communities who work so well together. Do NOT
let him separate the communities. What advantage is it to the Archdiocese, or to the communities here, to close Holy Trinity?"

Founded in 1844 to meet the pastoral needs of German worshippers, Holy Trinity Church is the Archdiocese's oldest ethnic parish. For 161 years it has cherished and preserved German Catholic traditions
both for new immigrants and for their descendants. It is the only German Catholic parish in New England's eleven Catholic dioceses. In 1990 it expanded its role by embracing the Archdiocese's only authorized traditional Latin Mass. The combination of these two very compatible traditions has produced a faith community that is much stronger than the sum of its parts. The parish has also demonstrated its commitment to ongoing Christian charity by willingly sharing its facilities with two social service agencies: the Cardinal Medeiros
Center day shelter for the homeless and the Bridge Over Troubled Waters residence for at-risk youth.

Source, an email on the Yahoo group Save Holy Trinity (membership required to read the emails).

Have the parishoners petitioned the Pope on this matter? Perhaps a German Pope would be more sympathetic.
Carmine () - 12 10 06 - 18:04

I don’t know the answer to your question.

I am not a canon lawyer, so I don’t know whether an actual, final, decision needs to be made by Archbishop O’Malley, as opposed to being announced by Father O’Connell at the meeting. I expect that until the Archbishop makes his decision formal, in writing, there’s nothing to petition about, really. Until then, the Pope and the curia would probably defer review.
mike (URL) - 12 10 06 - 19:23

Holy Trinity has a rich history that makes it part of not only Roman Catholic German-Americans heritage, but of the collective historical inheritance of Bostonians and all Americans. Technically the property “belongs” to the Archdiocese, but rightfully it belongs to those parishioners whose blood, sweat and tears (and that of generations gone before) built and maintained the property with love and devotion to the glory of God. The parish is solvent from what I understand. Why close it? For what possible reasons? To turn the church building into condos?

I hope that members of Holy Trinity will not “go” quietly. Put up a fight! Respectful yet insistent! Petition the Pope who loves both German heritage AND the Latin Mass, or occupy YOUR church building. Odd that the the heirarchy, (which, since Vatican II, has stressed the importance of the laity) will fall back on the old and tired “You must be obedient like sheep” theme in matters like this. Obedient in matters of faith and morals, yes. But in matters of stone and mortar where no debt or expense is put upon the Archdiocese?

The men and women in the pews DO matter. Let the Archbishop know this and stand your ground. Even if the church building ultimately closes you will know that you were good Catholics to the end and that you TRIED. Absolute obedience to authority in every instance can lead to a corruption of authority, as recent history has shown us, nation wide. Bishops answerable to no one. Bishops who do not reply adequately or at all to heartfelt concerns from layfolk.

Holy Trinity is prayer in stone. It connects people to past years and life events marked by ceremony and to future hopes and aspirations. To say that the “Church” is the people and not, in an important sense, the edifices that make the spiritual concrete, is erroneous. If the “people” are all that matter and not physical manifestations of the Faith, then why not sell the Cathedral of the Holy Cross? Is it any more important to Catholics, most who never go to it, than their own parish churches which are much more woven into the fabric of generations of lives?
Hans Jaegerstatter () - 12 13 06 - 15:37

According to Fr. Mark O’Connell of the Archdiocesan Office of Canonical Affairs, our last Mass at HT will be Low Sunday, 15 April 2007. As you may well expect, I am extremely upset at the Cardinal and his delegation of the “dirty work” to Fr. O’Connell, who clearly does not have a grasp of the impact of several significant pastoral issues, let alone logistical issues that will fall squarely on our shoulders. This plan remains short term solution since no juridical protections have been proposed. I have great concern of the “at will” nature of the plan that relies heavily on a singular priest. There will be a significant requirement to minimally fund reversal of “wreckovations” done to MIL in the 1970’s by the former pastor of MIL, not to mention a proper restoration and upkeep of much deferred maintenance to the physical structure. I cite some of these existing conditions I have observed below.

I do not think either the spokesman for the Archdiocesan Office of Canonical Affairs nor the Cardinal have a grasp of the true task at hand nor have diocesan resources been committed. I am not convinced that their decision has had any link to a professional Architectural/Engineering review. If it has, it has not been shared or communicated to myself or the Latin Mass community. Unfortunately, this church is not directly served by public transit, the closest light rail station, Eliot Station being nearly one mile away. There are currently a good percentage of Holy Trinity parishioners dependent on public transport, including many elderly. The burden (cost and man power) for some para-transit would fall squarely on the new pastor (Fr. Charles Higgins) of Mary Immaculate of Lourdes (MIL). To date zero planning whether it be the purchase or lease of vans has occurred.

For your information, the present church building of MIL was dedicated by Cardinal O’Connell on 24 November 1910. It was (is) an imposing edifice situated on a hillside in Newton Upper Falls. It was rendered in an Italian Romanesque brick style featuring a 135 foot campanile. Originally the roof was in a red terracotta tile and has unfortunately succumbed (long ago) to the utility of asphalt. The front elevation can be best described as a portico reminiscent of a Roman Temple with a vertical proportion expressed by columns of the Corinthian order supporting a pediment that has sculptural relief of figures that represent the apparitions of Our Lady to Bernadette Soubirous at Lourdes, France in 1854. The focal point of the interior remains the High Altar constructed of white Italian marble. Originally it was set behind an altar rail of red Italian marble with bronze “corkscrew” uprights and gates. The apse was lavishly painted with gilded stenciling serving as a backdrop to the reredos, above which a half dome contained three paintings of the Blessed Virgin: The Annunciation on the left, The Assumption in the center, and The Coronation on the right.

Unfortunately under the pastorate of Fr. Michael F. Doocey (1970-1993), following the Second Vatican Council and ensuing iconoclasm, the interior of MIL was generally wreckovated. The once beautiful sanctuary and nave has been generally white washed. This includes a set of polychromed Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) rendered white. The altar rail was destroyed save about eight feet at the locations of the former Side Altars of St.Joseph and Our Lady. Even these segments were relocated about six feet into the Nave. The marble flooring of the Sanctuary has been obscured by ubiquitous (Archdiocesan) red wall to wall carpet. A new and immovable freestanding Altar was formed about six feet forward of the bottom step of the old High Altar salvaged from the two existing rectangular Side Altars oriented back to back to roughly form a square proportion. The Holy Tabernacle of the old High Altar was systematically plugged and removed to the location of the old St. Joseph Side Altar where a “new” shelf was constructed and enhanced with a marble relief of “The Last Supper” also removed from the lower section (antependium) of the old High Altar. The remaining void from the old High Altar was covered by blank slab of roughly matching marble.

At least six rows of the original front pews, including the front “blind” pew panel are missing or destroyed. This provides space for God knows what…Liturgical dancing??? The same applies to rear five or six rows I suspect were removed for “gathering space”. Great, let’s encourage yapping in church.

My complaint? We (the Latin Mass community) will need to reverse and absorb the cost of the destruction wrought over the last 35 years to even approximate the Liturgical archtectonics of the sanctuary and nave that remain extant at Holy Trinity (HT). At a very minimum we need a temporary altar rail in the devastated Sanctuary of MIL. I am very concerned by the existing sight lines and blind spots encumbered by the permanent (immovable) placement of the existing freestanding altar, particularly with the large Liturgical entourage typical of High and Solemn High Masses. It is Fr. Higgins intention to use the old High Altar. He has taken the first step in restoring placement of the Tabernacle in the old High Altar. Unfortunately, he is currently disinclined to move the freestanding Altar since the parish will remain bi-ritual. I suggest he either work on the design of a movable but dignified freestanding Altar or celebrate all Masses here on in ad orientum. At this point, true restoration of just the church sanctuary for a dignified celebration of the Classical Roman Rite could cost several hundred thousand dollars. This does not even begin to address the balance of deferred maintenance throughout the balance of physical plant that includes significant deterioration to roofing, stone and brick masonry, exterior woodwork and ornamental ironwork. The existing pipe organ, inoperative for years with water damage and cracked bellows could easily cost tens of thousands of dollars to restore.

His Eminence (or Fr. Mark O’Connell) fully expects us to invest our Time, Talent and Tithe (as we did at HT) with absolutely no juridical guarantee (structure) to our permanent attachment to this parish. IMHO, if we don’t press this issue we could find ourselves in the same dilemma we find ourselves today…parishioners of convenience, which I liken to a common law marriage. As it stands, we are relying on the abilities of a dear priest. If removed from the equation, we may find ourselves roaming the diocese without a permanent home. This move will be VERY costly to our community and is fraught with risk.

For more info on MIL: http://members.aol.com/maryimmoflourdes/..
Rob Quagan () - 04 04 07 - 09:00

A graphic novel which may interest visitors to your blog is available from:

www.forbiddenplanet.co.uk

‘The Least Among Us’ explores the response of the Church to suffering in itself and a preview is available at: http://www.all-creatures.org/fol/ann-the..

Whilst the book challenges certain attitudes and dogma it remains a Catholic (if underground) comic.

All best wishes,

Martin
Martin O'Shea () - 06 20 07 - 06:41

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