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July 18, 2007

Final Mass at Sacred Heart set for Aug. 18; church buildings to be sold

Katie Farrell

AMESBURY — A final Mass will be celebrated at Sacred Heart on Aug. 18, as church leaders prepare to sell the building and its former rectory to a West Newbury Episcopal church.

The Rev. Marc Bishop, a co-pastor of Holy Family Parish, of which Sacred Heart is a part, said yesterday church officials are in the midst of planning the final Catholic liturgical celebration at the church that opened in 1903.

“It seems sudden,” said Allen Neale, who entered the Catholic Church during an Easter Vigil Mass at Sacred Heart Church in 1992. “(But) we’ve been at this for a while.”

A decision to sell the Sacred Heart buildings came last fall after church leaders considered rising debt and increasing financial burdens. Once the site is closed, all Masses and church functions will be held at the St. Joseph property on the corner of School and Sparhawk streets, a couple hundred yards away.

When Holy Family Parish was formed in 1998 — a merger of Amesbury’s two Roman Catholic churches, Sacred Heart and St. Joseph’s — the parish opted to keep and continue to use both churches and all of their buildings. But parishioners were notified last year that the setup was no longer possible and one of the church campuses would need to be sold because of financial obligations.

Last month, church leaders entered into “serious discussions” with leaders of All Saints Episcopal Church in West Newbury, who had expressed an interest in purchasing the property. The two parties are continuing to negotiate a possible lease or sale, Bishop said yesterday.

In a letter to parishioners included in the church bulletin over the weekend, church leaders said members of All Saints Church will begin to hold services in Amesbury in early September.

All of the priests and religious orders that once served at Sacred Heart have been contacted and invited to attend the final Mass, Bishop said. Cardinal Sean O’Malley cannot attend, but Regional Bishop Emilio Allue will preside over the celebration and represent the Archdiocese of Boston. O’Malley does plan to visit Amesbury before the end of the year, Bishop said.

In the weeks after Sacred Heart closes, Bishop said, church leaders will transition all operations onto St. Joseph’s property. That church is larger and can fit about 1,000 people — one of the main reasons why church officials elected to keep the property. St. Joseph’s property has five buildings: the church, parish hall, a rectory and two empty buildings that will be renovated into parish offices and meeting space.

The church is conducting a feasibility study of those buildings now, Bishop said. Parish transition committees have surveyed the property and issued recommendations. Over the upcoming weeks, the church will determine which religious items to keep for use at St. Joseph’s and which articles to share with other churches, chapels and religious societies.

“There are many options,” Bishop said.

Ralph Noon, 55, a lifelong and active St. Joseph’s parishioner, said his hope is that “the unification of the two churches into one parish will strengthen our resolve to become one and to work as each one of us is asked to by the Lord.”

Noon said Sacred Heart has served as a “spiritual home for many people” who got married there, took their first sacraments there and had family members buried from that church.

“The process is painful for people who have given their heart and soul to Sacred Heart, it’s a painful goodbye,” Noon said.

While Neale said it will be a “sad day” when he can no longer attend Sacred Heart, belonging to Holy Family Parish is more important — faith isn’t found in a building, he said.

“I’m happy to be a member of Holy Family Parish,” he said.

Initially, church leaders predicted the sale of the Sacred Heart building could take two to three years. The opportunity from All Saints Church changed that, which might be a relief for some.

Noon said waiting for a longer period of time would be difficult for parishioners and simply “delay the inevitable.”





IF YOU GO:

What: Final Mass at Sacred Heart Church

When: Saturday, Aug. 18, 4 p.m.

Where: Sacred Heart Church; a reception will follow in the lower hall

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