St. Mary's to close, dealing blow to Catholic Community
Alexandra Ghiz
Issue date: 11/19/09 Section: News
"I am extremely concerned about the future of Smith's Catholic community with both the closing of St. Mary's and the changes in Smith's religious life proposed by the college last year," Inskeep said.
Last year, as part of the budget plan, Smith announced that the College would restructure the religious life program, effectively removing the positions of the three chaplains and liaisons to religious life, and discontinuing weekly services starting the next academic year. Students are encouraged to find local places of worship in town to aid with the transition. With the closing of St. Mary's, however, the Catholic community could become further isolated.
"There needs to be some religious avenue for the Catholic students, faculty and staff either on campus or in the immediate vicinity," said Inskeep. "While Sacred Heart will remain open and students can go there for mass, the distance from campus will pose an issue to many, especially in the snowy winter months."
Alexis Ziemba '12 also attends regular mass at St. Mary's.
"I like the way mass is done at St. Mary's; it's similar to mine, and it's such a pretty church," explained Ziemba, who lives in Ludlow, Mass., a half hour drive from Northampton. "It's too difficult to go home every week for mass, so I was happy when I found a church that I liked."
When informed of St. Mary's closing, Ziemba was forced to reconsider. "I don't know what I'll do; I might just go home every Sunday," she said.
The diocese made plans to remedy St. Mary's parking shortage by assessing the land and the estimated $1.3 million in repairs that the church needed.
"An analysis had been made of the slope behind the church," said Dupont, "but these problems proved more daunting than we had hoped."
Additionally, several roof tiles had come loose, and the steeples were not sound. The exterior is now supported by outside structures to keep the building stable until work can be done.
After the announcement of the closing last week, Dupont reported, "We heard people from St. Mary's who have expressed disappointment; however, more often we've heard positive responses."
The Pastoral Planning Committee, a group of lay people selected by Bishop Timothy McDonnell to represent a variety of community interests and organizations, heard public feedback after the first decision.
Parishioners of St. Mary's hope to change the bishop's mind once again by being just as active. A petition from St. Mary's dated Nov. 16 aims to reach the bishop this week, asking him to reconsider his decision.
Catholic student organizations, according to Inskeep, are in the process of organizing an open forum to discuss student reactions, and she has created a Facebook group to further unite participants in the cause.
Last year, as part of the budget plan, Smith announced that the College would restructure the religious life program, effectively removing the positions of the three chaplains and liaisons to religious life, and discontinuing weekly services starting the next academic year. Students are encouraged to find local places of worship in town to aid with the transition. With the closing of St. Mary's, however, the Catholic community could become further isolated.
"There needs to be some religious avenue for the Catholic students, faculty and staff either on campus or in the immediate vicinity," said Inskeep. "While Sacred Heart will remain open and students can go there for mass, the distance from campus will pose an issue to many, especially in the snowy winter months."
Alexis Ziemba '12 also attends regular mass at St. Mary's.
"I like the way mass is done at St. Mary's; it's similar to mine, and it's such a pretty church," explained Ziemba, who lives in Ludlow, Mass., a half hour drive from Northampton. "It's too difficult to go home every week for mass, so I was happy when I found a church that I liked."
When informed of St. Mary's closing, Ziemba was forced to reconsider. "I don't know what I'll do; I might just go home every Sunday," she said.
The diocese made plans to remedy St. Mary's parking shortage by assessing the land and the estimated $1.3 million in repairs that the church needed.
"An analysis had been made of the slope behind the church," said Dupont, "but these problems proved more daunting than we had hoped."
Additionally, several roof tiles had come loose, and the steeples were not sound. The exterior is now supported by outside structures to keep the building stable until work can be done.
After the announcement of the closing last week, Dupont reported, "We heard people from St. Mary's who have expressed disappointment; however, more often we've heard positive responses."
The Pastoral Planning Committee, a group of lay people selected by Bishop Timothy McDonnell to represent a variety of community interests and organizations, heard public feedback after the first decision.
Parishioners of St. Mary's hope to change the bishop's mind once again by being just as active. A petition from St. Mary's dated Nov. 16 aims to reach the bishop this week, asking him to reconsider his decision.
Catholic student organizations, according to Inskeep, are in the process of organizing an open forum to discuss student reactions, and she has created a Facebook group to further unite participants in the cause.
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