St Joseph's, Cudahy, WI R.I.P.

By Fr. Wilson ( articles ) | Jun 05, 2003

It is always a sad moment when a parish church closes. Sometimes, both in cities and rural areas, it has to be; changing demographics make it necessary. I remember about nine years ago wandering around Saint Leonard's in Brooklyn, an eerie experience. Fifty years before, this vast place (seated 2500, at least four storeys tall) was a full, thriving parish church; that day, pews, altars and statues were gone, pigeons flew in and out broken stained glass windows a couple of hundred feet above my head. There was just no congregation any longer.

Sometimes the closings are hard, and bitter. Archbishop Dolan has reaffirmed the parish closures decided on by Archbishop Weakland. Saint Joseph's church building has been sold -- to an Assembly of God congregation. And, to the parishioners' fury, the Archdiocese loaned the AG congegation money to buy the church.

"We got a good deal," one of the new owners said. It will be interestng to follow this story as it unfolds.