Outside a Closed East Harlem Church, the Faith Lives On

Former parishioners at Our Lady Queen of Angels continue to conduct services outside the church, which closed eight years ago.

Share

By Marybel Gonzalez and Samantha McDonald

It’s an early Sunday morning, but an East Harlem church doesn’t open its doors for mass. No priest greets worshippers; no choir sings. The cul-de-sac at East 113th Street remains quiet, except for the low murmurs of about a dozen people gathered at a park across the street from Our Lady Queen of Angels church.

“Los mandotos del Señor alegran el corazón,” they chant in unison. “The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.”

After reading scripture and exchanging handshakes as a sign of peace, they form a circle in front of the church and hold hands to mark the end of the service.

The group has met every Sunday since the New York Archdiocese shut the church down eight years ago, part of a reorganization plan that also closed 20 other churches. Without a priest and communion, the service differs from a traditional mass, but the church’s former parishioners refuse to let go of their spiritual home.

“We don’t miss a Sunday,” said Margarita Barada, 91, whom fellow churchgoers call the “matriarch” of the group. “When it’s raining, we stand under the scaffolding. When it’s snowing, we stand out in the snow with our boots.”

Congregants continue to conduct services outside Our Lady Queens of Angels eight years after its closure. (Photo by Marybel Gonzalez)

Congregants continue to conduct services outside Our Lady Queen of Angels since the New York Archdiocese shut the church down eight years ago. (Photo by Marybel Gonzalez)

 

Roman Catholicism remains the country’s largest denomination, but the church faces many changes including an aging population, a regional shift away from the Northeast and a growing number of Hispanic Catholics, the Pew Research Center reported this month. The number of Catholic adults in the country has decreased from roughly 54 million in 2007 to about 51 million last year.

In 2006, the archdiocese announced a plan recommending the closing of 31 parishes. Spokesman Joseph Zwilling said it began contacting local churches. “We asked the parishes first to consider, and they had the opportunity to reflect on this,” he said.

Many at Our Lady Queen of Angels resisted and decided to raise funds to make the church self-sustaining. Yet the following year, the archdiocese finalized a list of 21 parishes to be closed, including Our Lady Queen of Angels.

That February about 60 members protested and refused to leave the church, leading to the arrest of six people on trespassing charges, later dropped.

“The pastor labeled us as misguided because we were supposed to listen to them and hush up and go wherever they wanted us to go,” said Gladys Mestre, 70, who had attended mass at the church since 1952.

Patricia Rodriguez, 51, who leads the weekly service and was among those arrested, said church members were not aware that the February 11, 2007, mass would be their last. When they showed up, the locks had been changed.

“I remember them calling the final mass a celebration, and me thinking, ‘What is there to celebrate?’” Rodriguez asked.

Our Lady Queen of Angels is the only Harlem church where former congregants continue to conduct services after its closure, according to the archdiocese.

Some former members have joined other East Harlem churches: St. Paul’s on East 117th Street, St. Ann on East 110th Street, St. Cecilia’s on East 106th Street and Our Lady of Mount Carmel on East 116th Street.

Zaida Rodriguez, 75, started attending mass at Church of the Holy Agony on East 101st Street after Our Lady Queen of Angels closed. But two months ago, the archdiocese also closed Holy Agony, which merged with St. Cecilia’s.

“My little church,” Zaida Rodriguez said. “They keep shutting them down.”

Other members also had difficult transitions. Although Mestre attends Saturday evening mass at St. Ann, she still considers Our Lady Queen of Angels her second home. “It’s the only parish I had ever known,” she said. “I started my religion there. I have not only memories but strong ties. This was the foundation of my faith.”

On a recent Sunday, a woman and her daughter stopped by the church and noticed the group praying across the street. Chrissy Riollano, 35, a writer who lives in the Bronx, had hoped to enroll her 5-year-old, Kailey Lauthe, in a Manhattan Catholic school. Approaching, she learned that Our Lady Queen of Angels, the church in which she grew up, had closed.

“The Sunday mass service was very touching; I cried,” Riollano said. “Today I wanted to pray where I grew up. Every time I have prayed here, I feel like I was listened to.”

Chrissy Riollano, 35, and her 5-year-old, Kailey, visit Our Lady Queen of Angels on a recent Sunday. They later learned that the church was closed. (Photo by Samantha McDonald)

Chrissy Riollano, 35, and her 5-year-old, Kailey, visit Our Lady Queen of Angels on a recent Sunday. They learned that the church had closed. (Photo by Samantha McDonald)

 

Parishioners still feel that way, even though Sunday services are conducted informally now. Instead of taking communion, with a priest delivering a homily, parishioners bless one another with the Guardian Angel Prayer and collectively participate in the sermon.

Lourdes Perez-Albuerne, a theology professor, provides the Sunday readings. Her sister, Ada Maria Isasi Dia, used to prepare them and expressed concern, before she died about three years ago, that the group needed someone to continue the weekly liturgies.

Although the church is no longer open to the public, the adjacent parochial school uses the building for student mass, Zwilling said.

“If the nun and the children still use the facilities, why can’t the church be open for the rest of the community?” Patricia Rodriguez asked. “It’s not the Christian thing to do – to include some and use the building for their own purposes only.”

The archdiocese has said it will not reopen Our Lady Queen of Angels, but members insist they will continue their weekly tradition.

“We’ll probably stay here until the last man is down,” said Maria Murphy, 65, who also attends Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

Barada, who has only missed two Sunday meetings and had been a member of the church for more than 60 years, remains hopeful. “I do have faith we’ll have these doors open someday,” she said.

(Feature photo by Samantha McDonald)

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Leave a Reply

* Copy This Password *

* Type Or Paste Password Here *

56,098 Spam Comments Blocked so far by Spam Free Wordpress