DIOCESE IN TRANSITION: Lorain’s south cluster still planning
Lisa Roberson | The Chronicle-Telegram
LORAIN — To say Lorain is church-rich but people-poor is an understatement.Lorain not only has the largest church cluster in all of the Cleveland Catholic Diocese’s 69 clusters, but it also boasts 12 beautiful churches — some just a few miles apart.
However, 100 years ago, the opposite was true when history and the development of the city led to a number of Catholic churches being built in the area to serve a booming population, said Bob Tayek, spokesman for the Cleveland Catholic Diocese.
“What we saw in Lorain was the classic ethnic migration,” Tayek said. “As immigrants left their European countries at the turn of the century, they settled in Lorain. The church was not only the place to go for spiritual respite, but it also became the social and cultural base for the community.”
The priests, who often spoke both English and the native tongue of parishioners, generally was the most educated person in the community and parishioners flocked to him for guidance.
“The steel mills and auxiliary plants that fed the mills really pulled ethnic workers to the area, and the church responded by establishing ethnic parishes to cater to those workers,” Tayek said.
Of the seven churches in the west and central Lorain cluster, six have strong ethnic ties.
St. Ladislaus is a Hungarian parish. Holy Trinity was founded with Slovakian roots. Both the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Stanislaus catered to Polish immigrants. Germans flocked to St. Joseph, and the Italians were largely served by St. Peter Church.
In recent years, particularly since St. Peter moved from 19th Street and Long Avenue to Oberlin Avenue, St. Peter has served mainly as a neighborhood parish, as does St. Mary, the oldest church in the diocese.
The city also has a second cluster made up of Sacred Heart Chapel on Pearl Road, SS. Cyril and Methodius on East 31st Street, St. John the Baptist on Grove Avenue and Homewood Drive, St. Vitus on East 32nd Street and St. Vincent de Paul on North Ridge Road in nearby Elyria Township.
Dealing with directives from Bishop Richard Lennon, the southern cluster also is working on a plan to go from five parishes to three by 2010.
“Getting through this will be all about keeping with the spirit of this, which is not to just protect your own parish,” said the Rev. William A. Thaden, pastor of Sacred Heart Chapel. “This is about what is best for the church as a whole.
“People only think about consolidation and churches closing when they think of this, but it is a much, much more detailed process. This has been such a long-needed process because we are configured for a church that is not where we are at in reality.”
The southern cluster is still working on its plan.
When completed, it will include how the cluster will operate with no more than three financial parishes and three priests; address the long-term pastoral needs of the cluster area; address the language and religious needs of parishioners; and how to strengthen the social and community services that serve their neighborhoods.
The plan also will include keeping open St. Vincent de Paul School.
Losing so many churches in one area, including many which have minority and ethnic ties, will not be easy and is certainly not an intentional plan by the diocese, said the Rev. David Novak of Holy Trinity Church.
“Retooling for the future should not be seen as a bad thing,” Novak said.
Contact Lisa Roberson at 329-7157 or lroberson@chroniclet.com.
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Filed by Lisa Roberson | The Chronicle-Telegram August 17th, 2008 in Top Stories. Popularity: 7% |
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