Published: December 28, 2008 11:52 pm      

TOP 10: 3, church mergers still unsettled

The final chapter of the Journey of Faith and Grace in Eastern Niagara County has yet to be written. The climax may come 4,500 miles away at the Vatican in Rome.

A decision to keep St. Mary’s of Lockport open or execute a merger with neighboring All Saints is expected on Feb. 6, three days before the Roman Catholic Church on the Big Bridge celebrates its 150th anniversary.

Meanwhile, Catholics are settling into their new their new parishes, some with new names. Some Catholics are unsettled.

Lockport, with five Catholic Churches within a few miles’ radius, was most affected, but every Catholic church throughout the area has been touched.

• St. Anthony’s on the west side of Lockport; St. Joseph’s below the escarpment; St. Mary’s on the Big Bridge; and St. Patrick’s on Church Street were scheduled to merge to form a new parish at St. Patrick’s. The new parish is named All Saints in memory of the day St. Pat’s was dedicated — All Saints Day, Nov. 1, 1863.

St. Joe’s has been retained as an oratory and citywide religious education center. The disposition of the merged churches has not been decided. Nothing has been sold, and St. Mary’s parish has been growing since the merger announcement in 2007.

In November, St. Mary’s said that it received word of the receipt of a letter from the under secretary of the Congregation of the Clergy that the first body of the Vatican to review the appeal found it necessary to extend the time limits until Feb. 6.

• Immaculate Conception parish in Ransomville will continue to operate as a single parish, but will develop a shared services relationship with the merged parish of Newfane, Wilson, and Olcott.

• St. Mary parish in Gasport merged into St. John the Baptist parish in Lockport in 2008. Good Shepherd parish in Pendleton is in the midst of a merger planned with St. Augustine of Clarence for Jan. 7, 2009. Both sites will be used.

• St. Bridget parish in Newfane, St. Charles Borromeo parish in Olcott and Our Lady of the Rosary parish in Wilson merged June 1, 2008, and took the name St. Brendan on the Lake. During the summer, the pastor from Newfane said one Mass in Olcott, and the pastor of Ransomville said one Mass in Wilson.

• St. Mary’s in Medina, Sacred Heart in Medina and St. Stephen parish in Middleport merged to form a new parish. St. Mary’s is the primary site. St. Stephen’s also is used by the merged parish. Sacred Heart will become an oratory until the celebration of its 100th anniversary in 2010.

At All Saints, there were four priests to work with and an expanded Mass schedule when St. Anthony’s and St. Joseph’s were merged at St. Patrick’s Church. Western New York Catholic is preparing an All Saints story for the diocese’s monthly newspaper in January.

“I feel encouraged by it,” said the Rev. Joseph Vatter. “I think it’s really good. We have a lot of support, but not everybody is happy.”

Collections are up, according to the pastor. For a time, with four priests, All Saints had wanted to expand the Mass schedule.

Letters to the editor indicate there may be some tension at All Saints.

Vatter is looking forward to the Western New York Catholic story on the Lockport merger. “It will be really positive for people to see,” Vatter said.

Contact reporter Bill Wolcott at 439-9222, ext. 6246.