Church to hold final mass on Sunday
Another Catholic church will be closing its doors as part of the "Called to Be church." St. Patrick's in Troy will hold its last mass Sunday. Our Jaime Kazlo talked with the group who made one last effort to keep their church running.
To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.
Then come back here and refresh the page.
TROY, N.Y. -- St. Patrick's Church on 6th Avenue in Troy has been a staple in the Catholic community there since the late 1800s. But come Sunday, parishioners will have to find a new place to worship.
"I never would have thought that in my lifetime this could happen," said Peter Grimm, Friends of the Community of St. Patrick's member.
Grimm is a lifelong parishioner of the church and a member of the group Friends of the Community of St. Patrick's. They presented a 12-point plan to Bishop Howard Hubbard back in May with suggestions on how they felt they could keep the church open. After a closed door meeting Wednesday, they were looking for divine intervention that didn't come.
"It's very sad, but we have learned in the past year that having these meetings and reaching out to the community in different ways. This is not just a parish issue this is city wide," said Grimm.
St. Patrick's is closing as part of the Albany Roman Catholic Diocese's "Called to Be Church" plan. It is just one of dozens of churches across the Capital Region being forced to close or merge.
The diocese did not want to go on camera, but did issue a response to the decision made at the meeting.
Bishop Hubbard says he feels he must stand by the recommendation that he accepted a year and a half ago as the best way to steward resources available to the Catholic parishes and parishioners in Troy.
About 300 parishioners can be found here on any given Sunday worshiping. Those parishioners say if the church closes its doors, a big hole will be left in the community.
"North Central has been touted as being one of the greatest need areas in the capital district. Pulling out of this campus will leave a hole in a very fragile community," Grimm said.
Sunday will be a somber day for Catholics as they attend their last mass at the church and hear the bells toll one last time.