Two Catholic churches, including Holy Cross, will close next spring

Two Roman Catholic churches, one in Lewiston and one in Sabattus, are scheduled to close by next summer.

“We will stop holding Masses at Our Lady of the Rosary and Holy Cross churches next June,” the Rev. Daniel Greenleaf of Prince of Peace Parish said in a recent newsletter to parishioners.

“This is the last winter we will have in these churches,” he said, unless the unreliable boilers at both churches fail.

The boilers may not last through the winter, said Greenleaf, who could not be reached Thursday.

The move will reduce the number of Catholic churches in Lewiston to two. A quarter of a century ago there were five Catholics in the city—and at one time there were six Catholic churches in Lewiston, three in Lisbon, one in Greene and another in Sabattus.

Greenleaf said that while faith remains strong in the community, municipalities “once filled with Catholic families living in the Catholic Church” have changed.

With fewer parishioners, he said, “it becomes financially impossible and it becomes ineffective to maintain the entire property.”

The priest said he formed a property working group last winter, including parishioners from a number of churches, to discuss parish-owned properties “and provide direction to meet the needs of the parish today and in the future.”

The decision to close two more churches, made in mid-October, was made on the recommendation of a task force.

“I know people will be sad and angry with me about these necessary changes,” Greenleaf said in his Oct. 20 newsletter, issued shortly after he personally broke the news to parishioners.

He said it was not surprising that the number and size of existing churches “were created to meet the needs of a different time in this area of ​​Maine.”

“We all know that the demographics of this part of the state have changed dramatically since the mills flourished and the Catholics came to work,” the priest said.

He said the decision to reduce the number of churches in the area “not simply reflects the size of the Catholic community, but also ensures that opportunities for faith growth are maintained given the economic realities of these aging structures.”

“The history and customs that formed these communities demonstrate great love and devotion to the churches they built, making this process a painful experience for many. However, in the harsh reality of the economy, where costs are rising at significant rates, most of our resources are spent on aging buildings rather than on people,” Greenleaf said.

Greenleaf, who has been meeting with parishioners to discuss the decision, said that “many Catholics have moved out of the area and their children are no longer raising their families here. A significant number of young people have left in search of education or better jobs.”

“That, coupled with the very small family size, not to mention the number of Catholics who have fallen away, results in fewer Catholics in the area to support the number of churches we have now,” he said.

The Pew Research Center reported that 21% of Mainers identify as Catholic, the lowest rate in New England.

At the height of immigration from Quebec a century ago, fully two-thirds of Lewiston’s residents were Catholic.

Holy Cross Church at 1080 Lisbon St. in Lewiston opened in 1924 and celebrated its 100th anniversary in June. It may not make it to 101.

In its early years, the church served more than 500 families. It was built to accommodate 850 people at a time.

It is unclear when the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary opened at Sabattus, but it was almost certainly at least a century ago.

City historians say the parish held masses in a small park in 1910, and around the same time some were held in the Green Street schoolhouse. The church that stands at 131 High Street was probably built shortly after this, but records are scanty.

Prince of Peace Parish includes five Roman Catholic churches. Under the proposal, only three would remain: the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul and Holy Family Church in Lewiston, and Holy Trinity Church in Lisbon Falls.

The church has shuttered buildings in the past, including St. Joseph’s Church on Main Street and St. Patrick’s Church on Bates Street, each of which closed in 2009. St. Mary’s Church on Cedar Street, now the Franco Center, closed its doors in 2000.

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