It was an emotional farewell as the 133-year old St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Saint John held its final mass Sunday.
Hundreds of Parishioners joined in prayer and song for the last time in the historic church.
Facing difficult economic challenges, the Saint John Diocese announced its revitalization plan this spring, which included closing nine churches in Saint John. St. Peter’s was among them.
READ MORE: ‘New vision of church’ becomes clear as Saint John Catholic diocese announces closure of 9 churches
The chair of the Parishes Property and Finance Committee says it’s a tough day.
“There’s a lot of people going through a grieving process, and today I would say is really the funeral mass for St. Peter’s,” John Delaney said. “We’ve been in palliative care for a while and today is the funeral mass.”
Blake Armstrong is a member of common council and has been active at St. Peter’s for 37 years.
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“This was the centre of the north end for decades,” Armstrong said. “It didn’t matter what denomination you were, you came to St. Peter’s.”
Parish Pastor Father Donald Savoie shares his views as to why so many churches are struggling when it comes to attendance.
“First demographics, this whole area, there are whole sections that are abandoned so this used to be full of families with a lot of children,” said Savoie. “Declining birth rate as well and declining attendance are a factor.”
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Meanwhile, there’s no firm plan as to what will happen with the property, but efforts will be made to save as many important items and artifacts as possible.
Parishioners will attend St. Pius Church on Somerset Street beginning next Sunday.
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