Chicago Sun-Times

St. Adalbert to close, other Pilsen churches realigned

- BY MITCHDUDEK Staff Reporter

Reaction was swift after the Archdioces­e of Chicago announced the closing Sunday amid a realignmen­t of Pilsen parishes. “Hearing this just breaks my heart,” said a parishione­r after Mass Sunday.

“HEARING THIS JUST BREAKS MY HEART.”

BEATRIZ MEDINA, 18, after attending Sunday Mass

Some parishione­rs identify with St. Adalbert Church in the Pilsen neighborho­od as much as they do with the color of their own eyes.

To change seems unfathomab­le.

So reaction was swift after the Archdioces­e of Chicago announced Sunday it will close St. Adalbert amid a realignmen­t of Pilsen parishes.

“Hearing this just breaks my heart,” Beatriz Medina, 18, said through tears Sunday morning after Mass. The people at St. Adalbert became her family when she was having problems at home, she said.

The archdioces­e cited the high costs of needed repairs for closing St. Adalbert. The church’s two iconic towers that pierce the neighborho­od skyline have been covered in scaffoldin­g for months because they are crumbling.

A parish- based fundraisin­g effort to collect $ 3million to fix the towers has collected about $ 100,000, parishione­rs said.

St. Adalbert may have taken the brunt of the impact, but other parishes will also be affected by the “reconfigur­ation” of Pilsen parishes. St. Ann and Providence of God will be absorbed by neighborin­g parishes St. Paul and St. Procopius, respective­ly, due to low Mass attendance, changing demographi­cs and a decline in the number of priests.

Church doors at St. Ann and Providence of God will remain open for worship “and continue to offer Mass and other sacraments as determined by the pastors,” the archdioces­e said in a statement.

A week ago Archbishop Blase Cupich outlined a “multi- year planning process” for the church in a column in the archdioces­an newsletter, Catholic New World, that’s expected to lead to the closing of parishes and merging of others. The archdioces­e has 351 parishes in Cook and Lake counties and expects to have about 240 priests by 2030.

Blanca Torres, a longtime St. Adalbert parishione­r, says a group of parishione­rs will try to raise the money for church repairs and fight the closing.

About 40 parishione­rs hung around after Mass Sunday morning at St. Adalbert to vent to the Rev. Alberto Rojas, auxiliary bishop of Chicago, and the Rev. Michael En-

right, the church pastor.

Parishione­rs asked why not knock down the church’s twin towers and save the rest of the church? Why doesn’t the church sell relics and use the proceeds to save St. Adalbert? Why not sell property downtown to raise money?

Rojas responded in part: “I don’t think faith should be based on a building. I think faith should be based on Christ.”

Enright declined to speak with reporters after Mass. “Maybe later,” he said. “We’re still licking our wounds.”

Conspiracy theories were rife among a group of about 10 parishione­rs who huddled after Mass. “They’re going to sell this place and turn it into a bunch of condos. It’s a continuanc­e of the gentrifica­tion Pilsen has been seeing for years, and it’s very political,” said one man who asked not to be named.

“Maybe there’d be money if the archdioces­e didn’t have to spend millions to settle sexual abuse lawsuits,” another woman said.

The changes announced Sunday will leave Pilsen with three Catholic parishes: St. Pius V, St. Paul and St. Procopius.

“The goal in considerin­g a reconfigur­ation plan was to continue serving the Catholic population in Pilsen using resources and personnel in a more effective and pastoral way,” the archdioces­e statement said.

No closing date was set for St. Adalbert. The other changes are effective June 30.

Marietta Rotman, a parishione­r at Providence of God, said she is organizing a meeting Tuesday night for everyone who wants to oppose the closing and consolidat­ion plans.

“I’m angry. We’re going to fight this,” said Rotman, who teaches Sunday school at Providence of God and lives in Pilsen, where she was raised. “What’s wrong with our parish? We have a priest and a good building and attendance at Mass is on the rise.”

Others were more sympatheti­c to the archdioces­e’s position.

“There’s sadness, but we understand,” said Carlos Campos, a 35- year- old auto technician who commutes up to 30 minutes from the Southwest Side to attend Mass at Providence of God. “Many people have stopped coming to church, and that’s pretty shameful. But we’re trying as hard as we can to keep people coming.”

Another Providence of God parishione­r, a young man who asked not to be named, said “there’s always going to be change and we’ve got to adapt and be strong. It’s lifestyle change — like a new job, a new house — but the faith is still there.”

 ?? | SUN- TIMES FILE PHOTO ?? Archbishop Blase Cupich gave the closing prayer service at St. Adalbert Parish during the Via Crucis, known as Stations of the Cross, in the Pilsen neighborho­od on Good Friday, April 3, 2015.
| SUN- TIMES FILE PHOTO Archbishop Blase Cupich gave the closing prayer service at St. Adalbert Parish during the Via Crucis, known as Stations of the Cross, in the Pilsen neighborho­od on Good Friday, April 3, 2015.
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 ?? | MITCH DUDEK/ SUN- TIMES ?? St. Adalbert Church will be closed because of costly repairs needed at the Pilsen church, the Catholic Archdioces­e of Chicago said Sunday.
| MITCH DUDEK/ SUN- TIMES St. Adalbert Church will be closed because of costly repairs needed at the Pilsen church, the Catholic Archdioces­e of Chicago said Sunday.

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