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St. Albert the Great Church reopens
BY MARK FONTECCHIO
The Patriot Ledger
Published April 1, 2005
WEYMOUTH - Mary Williams pumped her fists as she strode into St. Albert the Great Church.
She wiped her eyes, dipped two fingers into the font by the door and crossed herself with a mix of holy water and tears.
''This is absolutely wonderful,'' she said, crying. ''This church, it's part of us.''
Seven months ago, parishioners launched a sit-in to protest the closing of this brick church on Washington Street. Yesterday they won their battle when Archbishop Sean O'Malley announced that St. Albert will reopen.
''I'm blind hearing it,'' parishioner Elizabeth Griffin said, tears blurring her vision as she buried her head into another parishioner's shoulder.
Of the 80 churches that were chosen to close last year, St. Albert was the first to resist. Parish leaders say 1,000 members have participated in the 24-hour-a-day vigil that began on Aug. 30, the day of the last Mass at the church.
The protest inspired vigils at six other doomed parishes, including St. Frances X. Cabrini Catholic Church in Scituate. The vigil is continuing there, but the archdiocese said yesterday that closing is permanent.
As news came to St. Albert early yesterday afternoon, parishioners sent urgent messages to everyone on their phone trees to rush to the church for a celebration. But for many, disappointment tempered the good news. The former pastor, the
Rev. Ronald Coyne, will not be reappointed.
Parishioners credited the Rev. Coyne with reviving the church and bringing people back to the pews. He gave them the courage to hold the vigil in the first place, they say. The Rev. Coyne answered the door of his West Roxbury home yesterday but declined to comment. He has kept a low profile since losing his parish in September.
The archdiocese has appointed the Rev. Laurence Borges, a former St. Albert pastor, to return to the church. He celebrated Christmas and Easter Masses at the church, with the blessing of the archdiocese.
The decision to reopen St. Albert's follows months of review by a committee that examined dozens of church closings the archdiocese announced last year.
''We were really struck by the faith of the people at St. Albert's,'' said Peter Meade, a member of the committee that reviewed the closing for the archbishop. ''They did a masterful job of giving us a good reason to look again.''
Meade said the church's parish council presented a compelling argument about how increasing development in town, especially at the former naval air base, would bring in more Catholics looking to worship. He added that Archbishop O'Malley prayed and determined that not reversing the decision would be a second mistake.
''It's a dramatic underscoring of his ability to listen and his ability as a leader as well,'' Meade said.
The church is expected to reopen in a few weeks.
Some parishioners have suggested that the Rev. Coyne is being punished for his criticism of church leadership. He was particularly outspoken about Cardinal Bernard Law's handling of the sex abuse scandal in the archdiocese, and was among 58 priests who signed a letter in 2002 calling on him to resign as archbishop. Church members, including those on the parish council, say they may press for bringing the Rev. Coyne back to St. Albert.
Yet the overwhelming feeling at the church yesterday was unbridled joy. During a prayer service - which Pelly Tulimieri has held twice-daily since the vigil started on Aug. 29 - more than 150 people in attendance gave him a standing ovation.
Mary Akoury, co-chairwoman of the parish council, recalled a phone conversation she had with the Rev. Coyne.
''I was feeling somewhat sad (because of the Rev. Coyne not returning) and he said, 'Why are you feeling sad? This is a time to celebrate and rejoice. Look what you have done as a parish.'''
The Rev. Dan Riley of Sacred Heart Parish in Weymouth said he was delighted with the news and had been anticipating St. Albert's would reopen.
''There is a large number of folks up there and my guess had been that the committee would have seen that and would recognize it,'' the Rev. Riley said.
As the news spread yesterday afternoon around the Sacred Heart School, the Rev. Riley said, ''There are a lot of smiles. People are really happy.''
Archbishop O'Malley gave a glimmer of hope to five parishes that were originally scheduled to close, among them St. Pius X in Milton, Star of the Sea in Quincy and St. Susanna in Dedham. They had already received reprieves, and the reconfiguation committee will continue reviewing their fates.
Friends of Star of the Sea want to keep the Squantum parish open as a mission church, not a full-fledged parish. They were recently granted a meeting with the review committee.
''Each parish is going to be viewed on an individual basis,'' said Maureen Mazrimas, co-chairwoman of Friends of Star of the Sea. ''That's something that those of us who were suppressed wanted a long time ago.''
The Rev. David M. Burke, pastor at St. Pius X, said the archdiocese's announcement on St. Albert is heartening, but not a clear message that St. Pius X will rejoice in the same fate.
''They have done such a wonderful job down there,'' the Rev. Burke said about St. Albert. ''We are really happy for them.''
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