Ste. Jeanne d'Arc

There is an Eucharistic Chapel at St. Jerome in Cleveland. It is dedicated to St. Joan of Arc. Joan was not recognised as a saint because of her rôle as Saviour of France, but as a faithful christian under extreme duress and trial. The former bishop of Beauvais, Peter Cauchon was her persecutor.

St. Jerome used to have two tabernacles, one was on the high altar, and one was to the side by the Joan windows. After a time, it was decided that the parish church should only have the one, the one in the chapel. At the time, a comparison was made with St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. It is unfortunate that people have gone to Mass regularly for years and some have not sat there and 'communed' with God in that spot. At about the time, a man of very modest means, used to sit there for Mass. He turned his chair and faced the congregation. Then, if memory serves well, his life was taken by a snowplow. He travelled without a car.

St. Jerome is still open. They had feared closure. Years before, about the time of the tabernacle change, the church was consecrated. Candles were placed on the nave walls. The current pastor, who had been an associate then, joyfully explained the significance of those candles. A consecrated church had to remain. Unfortunately, that has proven to be a mediæval right, now abrogated.
The story of Saint Joan appeals to many. A peasant girl who stood against occupying England and their quisling french clerics, whom declared they spoke for God, as they promoted english supremacy.

Another essay, presented on the web, on her day, can be clicked on here.













































The windows are presented in pairs. The camera did not process the blue correctly, the blue should be deeply, solidly, truly blue and should not have faded to a sky blue. The red sometimes fades toward yellow.

Question Six

Of the initial survey/poll, Voices of Cleveland Catholics, here follows the responses for those of the first 342 respondees from 11/17/2010 to 12/02/2010 to the sixth question. It is to be noted that this question was not a multiple choice, but an opportunity to express the respondent's own answer to the question, if he so deemed it applicable. Some people left the space blank.

6. If you are not attending another Roman Catholic church, would you be willing to share the reason why?


I am attending the Community of St. Peter. I'll leave it to you to decide whether or not it's a church. All I know is it makes me feel closer to God when I go.

Both my current parish in Cleveland, and my former parish in Lorain were spared. My birth-parish in Lorain, and a 100-year old Polish parish with which I was associated were suppressed or repressed or closed.

The deeply flawed and unnecessary process has undermined my sense of the legitimacy of weekly Mass attendance. My faith in the tenets of our Catholic religion remains strong; but my trust and confidence in the institutional church is shaken to the core.

We are proud members of the Community of St. Peter, a traditionally Catholic parish no longer under the Diocese of Cleveland.

I attend a different parish, virtually, every week. I become pretty anonymous. Unfortunately, that is a programmed result of the suppressions--communities are forcibly broken up, by fiat. Personal parishes which were a majority of the parishes in the three counties of the eight in the diocese are nearing extinction. A 'parish' is now merely a territorial franchise. I have considered becoming Byzantine or Orthodox, for at least they do not hate me for my person. The American Catholic church has become a mirror of american society, the 'nativism' of the 1850s adversaries has been accepted by the hierarchy.

I am deeply hurt and disappointed by decisions made by the leadership of the Roman Catholic church. I feel betrayed.

I am attending an intentional Eucharistic Community

Until this Bishop leaves this community we do not intend to go to another Catholic Church. If we do decide to attend a Catholic Church, no contributions will be made to the Diocese while Lennon is here.

I am attending the Community of St. Peter, which was formed to allow the members of Historic St. Peter to continue as a faithful Roman Catholic community.

I am not attending a church because I don't think I can worship in a church which is not MY church.

Because I am a member of CSP! Is this considered a new church?

I am attending the community of St Peter's which was from after the closeing of our church.

It makes me feel very sad to go to another Roman Catholic Church-- all I do is cry and wish that I was attend Mass at my spiritual home. It is extremely difficult to concentrate and pray. I am overwhelmed with sadness and hurt.

I believe that Jesus'teaching included welcoming ALL people. The Church today does not agree with Jesus's teachings. I find that not only offensive but wrong. I do attend a church community that honors, respects and follows the teachings of Jesus.

After church shopping, I could not find a Catholic parish with worship that was prayerful. To think how observing rubrics is called worship. I have seen the duplicity and mean spirit of the diocesan bishop who sets the tone. Like a young tree, Catholic parishes are being forced to bend in a direction that distorts their growth. This assault on the church of my birth is so ugly that I can no longer find a home here. I need to find a community that nurtures my spirit. God knows how I struggle to be faithful to what he has asked of me.

I am not happy with the way the churches in the Cleveland Diocese are being run and don't feel the represent what our GOD would want. I am seeking out another religion at this point. I have a very bad feeling about what one man can do to human lives. So I am currently looking for another church and not sure what the religion will be. If the Bishop hadn't ruined my life I would have never decided to look elsewhere

I no longer understand the direction of the Catholic Church. Bishop Lennon shows no compassion or understanding of our feelings and surely never attempts to explain his decisions. Bishop Lennon abuses his ABSOLUTE POWER. We are truly lost sheep.

I HAVE LOST MY RESPECT AND TRUST IN THE PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CARE OF THE FAITHFUL. WHAT BOTHERS ME THE MOST IS THAT NO ONE SEEMS TO CARE. THERE IS NO ONE WE CAN GO TO WITH OUR MANY QUESTIONS. THE PASTORS HAVE NOT OFFERED ANY HELP. ROME IS TAKING WAY TO MUCH TIME IN INVESTIGATING OUR APPEALS. I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT THERE ARE MANY OTHERS WHO FEEL AS I DO. ROME NEEDS TO UPDATE THEIR SYSTEM OF APPEALS. THERE IS A LOT OF DAMAGE HAPPENING .

I have not joined a parish, yet I do attend Mass each Sunday...I am a "roaming" Catholic--trying new places. Since our parish was "supressed/closed", there was never any "direction" or "welcome" from other parishes or priests. In fact, our parishioners asked the administrator of the parish, where we should go, and his answer was "go wherever you want!!"

My parish was very small (yet profitable) and so far I have not found a parish that seems very inviting. Similar tot he way I don't go to bog box retail, but shop locally, I don't want to go to a bog box mega church. I don't go to church to be seen and show off my finery, and sadly that's how I feel at alot of these big suburban parishes, people are there to be seen and show off the goods. And so far, NO ONE from the diocese or another parish has reached out to me.

I am part of the commmunity of ST.Peters .,because many of us choice to stay together . The man who calls himself a leader Lennon that is not one i choose to follow.

I am apart of a newly formed community. I have no alligance to an institutional organization that has and continues to do so much harm to its members in the name of God.

I'm angry. I have lost my 'home' where I worshiped and held to my Slovak background and history. I have lost my faith in the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church. My faith in Jesus and our religion is still strong, but I cannot continue to 'belong' to a church where parishioners are stolen from and there is no compassion to how the church is run.

No option for attending the Community of St Peter!!!!!!!!

I am attending the community of St. Peters. I have not gone to any of the remaining churches in the Cleveland diocese. I felt shunned by the Catholic diocese. I was annoyed about Robert Tayek "staying on message" when it wasn't really accurate. Also, when the vatican released the statement that catagorized women priesthood and pedophiles together it made me sick. I've gone to church "no matter what" for 56 years and now I feel that the hierarchy needs to be more sensitive to it's members.

with everything that has come out about how dishonest and uncaring the bishop and the higher-ups are about the people we are still considering what we are going to do. we are hoping to open a church like the one you have going in cleveland.

You are missing a possibility -- those of us who are "nomad Catholics" attending church weekly but wherever we can find a church for convenience to our schedule or near somewhere we need to go. In other words, we are regular attenders but at no one particular church because we are still grieving the loss of a bonded community and will not be able to bond somewhere else until a grieving process is completed. Asking someone who has experienced the loss of the intense emotional bonding of a faith community if they have a "new church" yet, is like asking someone who just lost a beloved pet dog, "Did you buy a new dog yet?" Or worse yet, asking a grieving husband who just lost his wife, did you find a new wife yet? The grief process cannot be rushed and if the death was by some type of forced decision-making process, it feels like an execution, and the healing takes even longer!

I am attending Mass at the Community of St. Peter and donating to them. I am not contributing to any Catholic cause now or in the future.

I am still angry and disillusioned by what has happened at the hand of Richard Lennon. I'm not interested in signing up in places where your W2 is the most important thing. The way I see it, Lennon took our 1.5 million...it will be a long time before I put anything in that collection basket, if ever!

the parish we were merged with did not make me feel welcomed. they treated us like outsiders, per those very words that were stated in their bulletin the week before the actual merge took place!

I attend only twice per month on a regular basis.

Disillusionment with the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.

I am afraid to attend and make a commitment just to have Lennon shut with another round of closings. The hurt from the last closing still hasn't healed.

Trusting the Cleveland Diocese and the Priesthood in general, I think they are not in touch with the reality of the faithful people they are supposed to serve. They seem to think we are like children who have to be told what to do and then we are supposed to obey without any input. I have not found another parish where the Priest feeds my soul. I especially abhor the homilies where it is all about money. Since when is this proper?

Not Applicable

There are many reasons. First, I do not understand why our parish was closed. We have a large, strong and active congegation. Second, the parish we were merged with was unwelcoming of our parishioners. Third, I feel that the restructuring destroyed neighborhoods and parishes. Fourth, no consideration was given to the historical signifancemany of these churches hold for the city and it's citizens.

Leadership is proving to be very questionable at best due to the closure of St. Patrick's and other issues in the courts.

I am satisfied with the worship space provided for the Community of St. Peter and I continue to attend Mass at its present location.

I am a member of the Community of St. Peter, so I am attending Liturgy in a Roman Catholic Community but not a diosocean church. I just can't fit in Catholic communities that are essentially mega-churches where people do not participate in worship and thye really don't know one another or where Liturgy is not prayerful.

I have great distrust for the leadership of the Catholic Religion. I have a much different outlook of a pastor now than before the closures.

I am fed up with the dictatorial style of the church hierarchy. I am now attending the United Church of Christ, and find the leadership of this denomination far more open and amiable with its parishoners.

The leadership of the church doesn;t listen to the parishoners.

I cannot support an organization that doesn't adequately communicate it's goals, problems, and concerns to the very people that it is supposed to be helping. The scandals, the politics, and the inability to manage the parishes (both spiritually and financially) have unfortunately forced me to step back from the church. Until a reorganization takes place, my only option is to wait it out, and pray with my fellow Catholics - without the interference from a hierarchy that has become too callous to the needs of the people they are to serve.

Why should I? The Diocese is treating our churches as a business not a faith community. They have destroyed our faith in our leadership and I feel they really don't care if we come back to the Roman Catholic faith or not. I miss my church, my mass, and, all the people who I have known for so many years. The Catholic church doesn't care about our young people, they are what we should be showing a good example to. My family went to church every week TOGETHER. In this day and age it is hard to get children to go to church at all. That wasn't the case at St. Wendelin's. The children loved to come to church and we had lots of programs for them so they stayed interested. One of my grandsons showed an interest in becoming a priest, not now. Not since he sees that the Catholic church doesn't care about the people, just the MONEY!

I feel lost. Have not found a church to meet the needs of my faith.

My husband and I feel very BETRAYED by the Catholic church. NEVER would we have thought this could happen. Church was a constant in our lives for over 35 years, no matter what else, we always looked forward to mass on Sunday. We are both saddened, and sickend by the actions of Bishop Lennon. We feel he is doing the devil's work!

I will not attend until Bishop Lennon has been removed from his position. He failed to get an understanding of the needs of his flock prior to making his deciisions. The parish closed were all about money and what would cost the diocese and what would not. It does not take a rocket scientist to see this if you look closely at the accounting of the closed parishes.

I have attended a few others, but none feel like "home". I want my church and my neighborhood back

I am attending church with the Community of St. Peter's, making question 4 and 5 difficult to answer given the choices provided. It is still really the same church, just a different location. You can take away the building but not the community.

I don't feel at home with any of the other churches.

I am totally fed up and disgusted with the way things were handled concerning ethnic churches and parishes. I have been a life long catholic , as were my sisters and the rest of my family. I went to a catholic school for nine years, my sisters went to catholic high schools, as did the rest of my family. Now I am 41 years old with two teenage boys. I brought them up as Catholic and We frequented St. Emerics church and also belonged to a parish here in Euclid. Since the closing of St Emerics, I have no desire to give any of my money to the Catholic diosese, and have no desire to go to this American parishany longer. American churches are all over the place, and those people were not negatively affected by any closures.They left one church one week, and walked into another the following week. However, one of the only places that we were able to go as Magyars was taken away--although is was technically merged with another parish. Whatever spin Lenin wants to put on it--we are not buying it. Therefore, i am no longer an active participant and supporter of the catholic diosese in Cleveland/

We attend a non-sanctioned church, the Comm. of St Peter

I am a "roamin' catholic". I attend mass most Sundays but go to many different churches. I have no plans to register and will not contribute to the collection because I do not want even one cent of my money going to the diocese. At my previous parish I contributed many thousands of dollars each year and was involved in many activities which contributed to a very vibrant parish life.

First of all, my church, Holy Trinity in Lorain, was not originally scheduled to be closed. Then he changed his mind and closed it. I feel that when Lennon closed my church he turned his back on me, and my place of worship. I no longer feel the need to contribute to the Catholic diocese. I have not turned my back on God and still pray to him, but I feel like this was a dictatorship and refuse to participate. It was a beautiful church where my entire family went to school, (when it was open), me and my siblings were baptized there, first holy communions, confirmations. Then my son was baptized there and my daughter was married there in August, 2008. The last wedding performed at Holy Trinity!!! I truly miss mass at my church and I hope and pray that it will again open and serve the spiritual needs of our community. Shame on you Lennon....

I don't feel welcome at the newly creaed church. The pastor is very unwelcoming and controlling. Do not like the way the mass is celebrated, very untraditional

I can not stand the new "merged" chuch. I feel that it is fake and that the messages we are to get out of the sermons are over looked by all the hooky actions of the pastor. Don't get me wrong, everyone is very nice, but it I do not like all the arms swaying, bells ringing and singing every response and prayer. I, personally do not like to sing, and there for I do not participate in the mass and as sad as this is, I am looking for a parish that comes close to what I was used to, and was happy participating in the mass.

I am attending the Community of St. Peter

The Roman Catholic Church didn't need me, didn't worry about my faith or that I would like to attend my church of choice, so I realized I didn't need them anymore.

I am attending multiple churches- a different one almost every week. I can't find one feels right.

I some times attend one in my neighborhood,just because it's close,and I refuse to go the the merged church that the bishop says I should go to. He needs to learn to lead by example not by force. I choose where to attend and who to give my money to, not him.

I feel that they have abandoned me. I do not feel that they are doing things in my interest at all.

I fortunate to have received a Catholic education at St. Pat's WP & St. Ignatius. Every moral & ethical concept of Christian behavior I was taught and believe in has been ignored or abused by the hierarchy of the Catholic church's dealing with the Child Abuse scandals & the Church Reconfiguration Sham. Action speak louder that words was the moral foundation of my Catholic education. Two words describe the Cathlolic Church. Hypocrisy is the fiirst word that describe the actions of clergy, locally, nationally, & in Rome. Their actions make the "Moneychangers in the Temple" look respectable by comparison. The 2nd word is criminal. There will not be Catholic Church in 20 years if business as usual is conducted. I will come back when and if reform is offered and demonstrated.

The church I attended is asking for money to remodel, which I see it is in need of it. I gave to my church we remodeled and all for what? It stands empty and we were not even in the red. So now I don't even go to church but have a void. I believe and I miss my church. I pray at home. Haven't felt wanted at other parishes. Very cold. The only one I felt wanted in is in a terrible neighborhood and falling apart.
dissatisfied with the church leadership or lack there of.

not sure how to answer the 5th question. I am a registered member of the Community of St. Peter-we are Catholic-however the Diocese does not seem too sure about that.

was supporting 2 ethnic churchs now attending 1 not closed

I like the new parish and resent the attitude that it MUST be a bad place to attend Mass because our former church closed. Flawed as the process was, blaming and belittling another church isn't the answer. I just think that's a childish attitude; as well as insulting to the good people whom I've met at the new parish.

I prefer the Catholic Worker liturgies, and so I attend those. I only attend my own parish, Community of St. Malachi, sporadically. Since moving back into the geographical parish of St. Patrick's, West Park, I attended St. Patrick's, West Park, before it closed once, and I attended a few weekday masses at Our Lady of Angels.

I have been way too disheartened by the uncompassionate, uncaring, un-Christian way we, as 'lay people' are treated. I've had it. I worship God on my own and am not always angry now. Us mere parishioners who have put our hard-earned money into building the churches are treated as nothing by the 'powers that be.' The sex scandal was abhorrent and the way so many churches have been closed was the last straw for me.

Waiting for the final decision from the Vatican on Nov 30-et

I want my church St.Emeric back.

Shame from our poor pastoral leadership. Shame for the poor way the child abuse cases are handled and hidden. Pain from the closer of the vibrant parishes (2) I belonged to.

You closed mine.

My wife and I were 3rd generation parishioners of St. Stan's in Lorain. We both feel that Lennon was nothing but a "hatchet man" and had no reguard for the people he affected by closing our parish. We were both very active in our parish and still can't believe we were left out in the cold by this man. Why are we not attending church on a regular basis? Because our Roman Catholic church is all about the money and not the word of God like it once was.

I will not attend another Catholic church. I have a parish community - it is St. Peter's Community. I will continue to ignore two-page single-spaced letters from Bishop Lennon threatening me with excommunicatiol and the dangers of failing to register at some other parish. I have a parish. This bishop has violated the trust and the good will of the people of this diocese.

I was born and raised in St. Patrick (WP) parish. I was baptized and attended Grade School there. Both my parents had their funeral masses there. Siblings were married there. St.Pats was the center of my faith. The Bishop took my center away because of politics, pure and simple. I feel that there was no regard given to the rich tradition and strength of St. Patrick parish. No regard to the neighborhood and the importance of St. Patrick's. No importance given to the regards of souls that would be effected, no importance given to an individual soul, namely mine. Even when I lived far away in the south-west I considered St. Pats my parish. When the Bishop took away my parish, he may have also stolen most of my faith.

I attend Mass with the Community of St. Peter

I am upset that the my Church was sold for money by the religion that I love. There was no logical reason to close our church other than for money. There was plenty of funds to support the parish, the priest was willing and able to hold mass, and many active groups were involved. There was no other parish in the entire suburb that serves Catholics and a growing Catholic Indian and Philipino population in this suburb was attending the church. Therefore, there is future growth. Orange Village offered 2 Million Dollars for the entire property before cluster process had begun.

I just cant find a Catholic Church that I am confortable in any more- this is the third time my church closed on me in my lifetime. I just about had enough with the Diocese-if I do find one I will not contribute any money. That is the only thing the Diocese is looking for is the great american $$$$.

Have not made any choice at this time. That ignorant S O B will NOT force me out of the Church. Oh, by the way, I was IRISH before I was Catholic

The representatives of the Diocese want MEGA - churches of around 2,000 members or more - that is not the makings of a religious service, that is a basketball court with a crucifix at one end. Being shoved into a huge crowd where I will never get to know most of the people and being in foreign surroundings where the people are "Catholic" but do not worship the same way culturally as I do is alienating to me and to a great many others. It is NOT just going to Mass and participating in a ritual, it is the fellowship life of the church. The "fellowship" aspect was ripped away from me and my fellow parishioners and I believe it was financial reasons, not religious. I know that religious leaders should also be "good stewards" of their flocks but even Jesus threw the money lenders out of the temple. I could understand closing a parish if a Church building was falling down and only 5-10 people attended Mass regularly but that was NOT the case in several parishes where there were literally HUNDRED of parishioners and the church finances were sound, and they were making their required contributions to the diocese even.

I'm attending a variety of Catholic churches- diferent one each week, seeking one that has a similar vibrancy that my closed parish had

I am attending the Community of St. Peter. This is my "new" church.

I am TOTALLY DISGUSTED with the way this closing process was handled. There were groups formed at churches to offer recommendations only to have these recommendations absolutely ignored. This once again came down to MONEY and POLITICS. There was NO real chance for working out what may have been mistakenly perceived as a parish in trouble. The bishop was brought in to basically do a hatchet job as he did in BOSTON and from what I understand will be leaving here to go to Chicago and continue this farce Known as "A Reconfiguration Process." The bishop acts without heart or compassion and seems to have no care at all for any congregation. The bishop should have thought about the Phrase "What would Jesus Do?" before starting this process. If he had, the outcome would have been much different and would not have driven even more people away from attending a Catholic church. This is just another example of the Catholic church in general including all the leaders in Rome of being so out of touch with THEIR Congregation. Being Christian or acting like Christ seems to have been thrown out of their Vocabulary. When I introduce myself as Catholic anymore I feel the need to explain that I in no way support the recent activities of The Catholic Church. These being the so called "Reconfiguration Process" in Boston, Cleveland & soon Chicago and the blatant hiding and reassignment of KNOWN PEDOPHILE PRIESTS for DECADES. Not only is this last practice illegal but it promoted this practice of pedophilia by transferring known criminals to unsuspecting parishes to prey on another group of innocent children. As much as the church would like people to forget this happened, it has been burned into the hearts & minds of many Catholic people for decades. It will continue for many decades to be something All Catholics will never understand how it happened and many will never be able to forgive the church for allowing it to happen. Signed, Raised in The Catholic Church but appalled by its most recent history.

i do not believe the catholic church is interested in my soul's salvation. i am attending a lutheran church where i can pray in my native language.

I belong to the Community og saint Peter I am not sure how we would be classified

I am angry

Its just not the same - Afraid to become attadched as that church will close too!

After the pedofile crisis and the church closings, I have concluded that the church is mostly out for itself. I believe their actions boarder on bullying. I may not be leaving but I am looking. As I expand my horizons, the flaws of the Catholic church become much more evident

The closing made me realize the corruption in our and every diocese and I no longer wish to be a part of the Church, though I continue to take a strong role in protesting.

The service at my church was beautiful and most inspiring. I was at home there. I have not found this anywhere else, and do not believe that I will. I am also angry at the process that closed my church despite the fact that the committee recommendation was to keep my church open. My church was a thriving, viable, spiritually and socially active church. I believe the Bishop closed my church out of greed. It is valuable property. However, I am valuable property too, and do not feel served by this present bishop.

I am now doubting that Bishop Lennon is my spiritual leader, and I refuse to attend another Catholic church over which he presides. I am also shaken that the Pope stood behind Bishop Lennon's decision to close St. Emeric and thus am considering joining a protestant church than is not led by the Catholic mafia.

I continue to be challanged by a church hierarchy that refuses to hear the voice of its flock and treats them as if they are the ignorant peasants of midevel Europe to be bullied and quilted.

They don't want me.

YES! Our church is governed by dark "Angel(s) and liars!!!!!! The people have faith - the leadership is corrupted! I, AND MY FAMILY DO NOT BELIEVE IN CATHOLIC LEADERS, AND THEY JUST LIKE US, HUMANS. WE ONLY PRAISE GOD, NO ONE ELSE! THERE ARE GOOD PRIESTS, LIKE; FATHER BEGIN, FATHER MARRONE, FATHER SIKLODI,.. WE WILL NEVER EVER DONATE ANY MONEY TO THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH!

I have a problem attending a Roman Catholic church because of the involvement of the Pope and the Bishop - as evidenced by the closing of my parish, which was unnecessary and completely unfounded. The Roman catholic church has turned into one that cares more about how much money is being brought in than spreading the word of God to it's parishioners, and I have a hard time bringing my children into such an institution. I a attending a non-sanctioned catholic church.

Do you really need a reason? First of all, how dare you close a church, the house of GOD?

I am VERY embittered by my experience with the R.C. church, and how they put individuals like Lennon in positions of authority.

I am attending a RC community not recognized by the diocese.

We have not found a close, welcoming church that our family likes as well as St. Pats.

anger, bitterness, feeling of betrail, fear of investing my trust and support and confidence in a system that will again let me down.

I will not return to the Catholic Church until Bishop Lennon is gone and that's not a 100% guarantee!

n/a

We attended the Hungarian Catholic church for all holidays and special events, and some other Sundays we attended a closer Catholic church. Now that the Hungarian Catholic church (St Imre) is closed, we have not felt the same about attending another church for the holidays - the traditions and the language are different, and by extension we are having a harder time attending mass at the closer one - it used to just be supplemental, and we don't want to make it our home parish, so total attendance is practically nil.

closer

unsure how to answer question 5- I have joined the Community of St. Peter. we are not recognized as a church.

I do not have the desire to go to church anymore, I really have to push myselfur

I am worshiping with my former parishioners at a location not approved by the Diocese of Cleveland.

We are currently participating in the Community of St Peter which is technically outside of the recognized Roman Catholic "approved" Church circle.

Nothing close any longer.

I have not found a church that satisfies all my needs. I have narrowed it down but still will have to settle for less than the vibrancy of the church that was closed. It will take time for me to find just the right community.

Want to continue to practice Catholicism.

Have visited many different area churches cannot decide which to join. My husband used to belong to the parish we merged with and he refuses to go back there. I have belonged to St. Patrick my whole life and am finding it very hard to feel comfortable anywhere else.

I AM attending the merged parish, only because the social justice work has been allowed to continue. There is a deep pain in my heart for all of the members of our Diocese. Even those who were not in parishes that have closed or merged have been hurt. Many of my friends and collgues have left the RC Church during the past two years. They have taken their children with them. This process was the last straw for them. Injustice hurts everything and everyone.

I remained a devout Catholic for 20+ years after "being taken advantage of" by a priest during the sacrament of Reconciliation. When that priest committed suicide, and the "church" acted as though he was a hero, I was utterly disgusted and felt BEYOND betrayed. My husband and I (both born/raised Catholic and attended Catholic school) made the painful decision to no longer worship alongside our Catholic family. We have been active members of the ELCA for several years now and have been content with the choice we made. Seeing how Lennon has come in and butchered the Diocese, I can only say my feelings of betrayal are even more justified. Closing churches and "banishing" parishoners for standing up for their communities is just another example of how the "church" and it's "men of the cloth" do not consider the role of the flock when making decisions that affect them.

I did not join a Roman Catholic church...I joined St. Adalbert. When I walked into St. Adalbert for the first time I was a Baptist but I knew I was among friends. I studied, made my Affirmation of Faith, received First Communion and Confirmation. I settled there and now that it has closed I did the same thing at the church I now attend. I am a Christian who chose to become Catholic and I praise God... not the Priest or the Bishop. I celebrate each week with friends at my new chosen church and at times bring others with me in the hopes they will find a home with us. Would I go back to St. Adalbert if it were opened again? I'm not sure at this writing as I don't know if it would just be a matter of time before it would close again. The closing was painful but Bishop Lennon, and no one else can steal my joy and I for sure will not give my joy away. I may leave this church but I pray the wonderful and loving people I share with will never leave me in spirit.

Tried a number of churches but do not feel comfortable. All the people are literly strangers. No cozy feeling. Too much anger has set into my mindset. It is not healthy. I feel what is between my God and myself is how this is going to be. I do not need a catholic Church to be buried from. Bishop Lennon is a hackman and is not looking out to bring his flock togeather. He is worried about the almighty dollar. He is not the kind of Catholic priest I grew up with. I don't like him, his attitude or his actions. He is self centered and dosn't care about the catholic community. He can sugar coat all he wants, he can ignore us all he wants. We the people know what he is about and we don't like it.

I feel the parishes as well as the dioscese has put all faith on us and has had no faith toward us during the process. we were forced to join a parish to maintain parishioner status, sign a paper that we will give 'x' $, and zero promises/commitments made of what we can expext in return. i do not attend but the remainder of my family has. the process in our cluster was not well planned and information seems withheld. plus, now i have an additional parish that i could go to qualify for parishioner tuition status but was told i need 'permission' from the parish that i geographically belong but do not actually even belong to - since my family had joined the 'other' parish. (so who to get 'permission' from? no one can answer this) this option was not presented until well after we were 'forced' to pick a parish. the dioscese should have financially supported the school during this transition so that we weren't forced to join other parish until our home parish actually did close. i also heard that the dioscese went against the cluster plan - information was presented by a dioscesan aide that my not have been accurate - i feel like this was deceptive and not how i act in my life or how i would teach my children to act.

After having St James closed my family and I find it difficult going to other church's without feeling great sadness at the loss of the community that we had been apart of. Having the church closed, against the clusters decision, demonstrates a lack of thoughtfullness and compassion. And since St.James was not merged with another church, this action made us feel as we were cast aside by the catholic church.

My parish was dedicated, sustainable over a long history, and most of all, it was a community of deep faith centered in a historic, unique, and magnificent church. There is simply no replacing it. My faith will endure as a private practice unless my parish is reinstated.

Frustration over being ignored.

I was raised in the Christian Church, and converted to Catholicism when I married. I enjoyed the Catholic Church but cannot find one that I like as much as St. James in Lakewood that was closed. I am looking now at both catholic and protestant churches to attend.

I feel that the parish being closed and not providing at least a merger has left one so to speak without a home. I feel that all previous contributions and sacraments received in my parish have been dismissed and that no one really cares about community just where the money goes.I will probably attend Mass at The Poor Claire Cloister Chapel on Rocky River Dr and contribute my usual funds to their thoughtful prayers.

I attend another Roman Catholic church rather regularly, but the commitment is not there, nor are we active any longer. Will be a while at least before that happens.

I have tried many churches inside our diocese as well as outside (55years old). My parish offered the best of many qualities I sought in a faith filled parish.

I have been a catachist for over 10 years, been baptized, confirmed and married in the catholic church. After witnessing the sloppy closing of over 50 churches in the Cleveland area, I have been changed forever. I will "continue to dance"... but to a different drummer that represents all religions coming together in promoting God's Grace and love in all of us. It feels wonderful to finally be able to put my talents to God's work...in feeding the hungry, providing shelter and clean drinking water to those in need, not to mention providing education for the forgotten ones. Although I will always remain a Christian, I have found a new Religion... Rotary International where community leaders all over the world give back to their country and local area...as well as abroad through five avenues of service. Visit www.rotary.org for more information on an organization where 100% of annual giving goes towards doing God's work. All administrative funds come from interest only. The catholic church should look into this concept. God has different plans for everyone. And this plan I can really sink my teeth into because the leadership believes in SERVICE ABOVE SELF. In spite of my heart ache in losing respect for the leadership in the catholic church, I thank God for showing me how to better use my time. I also want to thank the Catholic Church for giving me the best childhood a girl could ever have. Visit YouTube: "Saint James Family Memorial" and you will better understand where I came from and why I am a Rotarian today. I will contine to support the catholic church as a Christian who believes in linking the community together through the goodworks of faith, love and charity they provide. This is my way of staying connected to my former church. And of course, I will continue to be a fisher of men and share in the Eucharist of God's people through their many good works. My prayers will continue to flow with my tears of hope that one day I can rejoin my family in the womb of my original mother...St. James of Lakewood Ohio.

I checked Roman Catholic because, according to Bishop Lennon, the Community of Saint Peter is valid but "improper".

disgusted with the leadership of lennon he is no leader ,he's an arrogant sham of a representative of our faith and those in charge of him are allowing him to do what he wants, and the church heirarchy are wondering why people are not going to church or are leaving , what don't they understand ?

Still havent found a new home.

I'm not attending any other Roman Catholic church because I'm grieving for the loss of my church and family. I feel like I have been orphaned and abandoned. Where I use to find comfort and solace in going to church, I only feel anger and sadness now. Anger that the Bishop in his quest for glory and promotion questions our faith and calls us bad catholics for even daring to question his almighty decision. What kind of spiritual leader is he? For those that say it is just a building and to get over it, shame on you. Churches throughout Europe are appreciated for their design and art work. Why should we feel any different. Would anyone ever dream of closing the Sistine Chapel?

Just not the same. ex - On Halloween morning, in the middle of the closing blessing, the celebrant said he liked Butterfingers.

I really feel DISPLACED since they closed my church that I have attended for the past 48 years!I l don't know if I'll ever "join"another church,especially Catholic.thanks to the lack of trust in the Catholic Diocese lead by Lennon.I gave my blood,sweat,& tears to our parish only to be mislead by our pastor who supposidly was lead by the Diocese.I firmly beleive all these church closings happened to pay for all the higher ups mistakes.If I ever do attend mass reg.again or join a congregation again I'm sure it will be one of another faith.

TRUST!

if and when we do attend again it won't be catholic

I feel that the bishop is not interested in the members of the churches of Cleveland. He disregarded parish reccommendations and made poor choices that prohibit lifelong parishoners and elderly from attending any church at all.He does not seem to be concerned with anyone who does not agree with his decisions,even going so far as to call them un Christian.What would Jesus have done?

I am first of all a Christian who happens to have chosen to become Roman Catholic. In the cluster, our church was supposed to remain open. The bishop elected to close our church but has yet to tell us why. I feel very betrayed by someone who in reality has not handled himself in a Christian manner from the very beginning of his tenure. Those Catholics who have chosen to defy him have been threaten with losing their souls. Is this really how Jesus would have acted? Bishop Lennon came to Cleveland to close churches. He never took the time to learn about the various peoples that make up the diocese and to put himself in their shoes. (He is really just the same as the rest of us; his soul is not better.) When this is over, he will move on to the next town and not worry about what he has left behind. That is very sad for the rest of us.

I am disillusioned with the leadership of the Catholic church. If the hierachy will not be held to the concepts of fairness and goodness why stay. I love the church and everyday people who belonged to my parish the working preists, the sisters and the wonderful people that keep a parish going, but I hate the hierachy, bishops who lie and cover up crimes (talking to you Lennon) out of touch cardinals and a papacy that seems to be completely out of touch with everyday people. I have come to the point where I refuse to follow, listen or obey them any more. Yet I miss my parish and I miss going to mass but I just can't. Our cluster was lied to and then my parish was destroyed. When the powers that be get religion maybe again so will I.

I attend several churches throughout my area, but not frequently or regularly. It is challenging to attend other churches for many reasons. I have not found one that has felt like home yet. And I am waiting for the results of our appeal in Rome.

St. Emeric Church was my church, I want to hear the mass in my own tongue - Hungarian. If we do not re-open, I will start to attend the Lutheran or Reformed Hungarian churches.

Need any more proof?

Need any more proof that the Republican party represents anyone other than greedy millionaires? So many problems, the Democrats control both Houses of Congress, and President Obama caves to the repukes, whom will take all government doings and the national interest "hostage", if the very, very rich are not able to skip taxation. Anyone paying attention should have learned this, once and for all, nearly 80 years ago.

The crazy and stupid talk that Obama is a leftist, socialist, communist should be ended. But empty wagons will still make noise.

Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, who had previously supported tax cuts for the rich, has finally had too much:

I'm going to argue forcefully for the nonsensicalness and the almost, you know, moral corruptness of that particular policy. ... This is beyond politics. This is about justice and doing what's right. ...
It's what I'm calling the Obama-McConnell plan. We're going to borrow $46 billion from the poor, from the middle class, from businesses of all sizes basically to give a tax cut to families in America today, that despite the recession, are making over a million dollars. I mean, this is unprecedented. Unprecedented.

People have pointed out, the vote has not been made. Congress critters have been known to say one thing, and vote the other.

There they stay ...

afternoon 28 November 2010 St. Casimir-in-exile in Solidarity

There they stay, week after week, now unto the second year. They will outlast Lennon. The parish is constant. Everyone is not there every week, some come on occasion, some cannot stand in the street and sit in the car. They have not surrendered. The diocese treats them with contempt. They came the next Sunday too [and will be there the one after], praying, singing in 27°F, wind and snow stinging the eyes. They sang well and loud, in polish, in english.

List of Cleveland diocesan closings

Here follows a list, a long list, really two lists: the parish closures before the arrival of Richard Lennon and those after. It has been broken into groups of ten. Before April 2006—25 parishes were closed, 1 suspended; since then —58 have been closed (a nebulous number, perhaps 15 have appeals currently in Rome). In comparison to the previous essay (cf., some closures were mergers), which gave some details of why and wherefore parishes closed, those closed after 2005 were closed almost entire by a lone executive fiat or ukaze. The list abbreviates the parish name, nationality (if any), dates of existence and municipality (if outside of Cleveland proper). It is to be noted, that, the diocese of Cleveland was created in 1847; the first resident priest came in 1835. The diocese was the northern half of Ohio. It now is 8 of 88 counties, and only those parishes of the Roman (or western rite) are considered for this list. Note: last Mass said, and closing date are not always identical. If parish was merged, and stayed open as the resultant worship church: it is not listed. If the merged parish closed: it is listed with the name of origin.


St. Mary on the Flats Irish 1826-48, cathedral 1847-52, chapel of ease to1886
Annunciation French 1868-1916
St. Anthony Italian 1880-1938
St. Columbkille Irish 1871-1957
St. Peter Claver African-American, Akron 1945-1959
St. Martin Slovak 1893-1960
St. Bridget Irish 1857-1961
St. Wenceslaus Czech 1867-1963
St. Mary German 1854-1959, chapel-of-ease to 1968
St. Agatha 1945-1975

St. Edward Irish, African-American 1871-1975
St. Marian Italian 1905-1975
St. Agnes 1893-1980
[Our Lady, Star of the Sea, Vermilion 1979-1981 suspended]
St. Joseph German 1855-1986
Holy Family Czech 1911-1988, chapel-of-ease to1997
St. Peter Lithuanian, Akron 1919-1989
Transfiguration Polish 1943-1992
Nativity BVM Slovak 1903-1993
St. Benedict Slovak 1928-1993
St. Thomas Aquinas 1898-1993

St. Joseph Collinwood‡ 1877-1994
St. Mary of Czestochowa Polish 1914-1996
St. Josaphat Polish 1908-1998
St. Mary Polish, Barberton 1912-2002
Holy Trinity German, African-American 1880-2004
§  
===========================
mural by Romeo Celleghin for St. Andrew Svorad, demolished.

year established•date of last Mass or 'closing Mass'
1894•10 28 06 Assumption of Mary Polish, Grafton, chapel-of-ease to 2010
1945•11 12 06 St. Jude Warrensville Hts.
1911•09 02 07 Holy Trinity Hungarian*, Barberton
1923•10 28 07 St. Wenceslas Czech, Maple Hts.
1946•12 30 07 St. Henry
1898•12 30 07 St. Catherine
1914•05 27 08 St. Philip Neri
1906•06 02 08 St. Andrew Svorad Slovak
1908•10 25 08 St. George Clinton
1910•04 26 09 Holy Cross Polish, Elyria

1944•05 24 09 Epiphany
1905•06 14 09 SS. Cyril & Methodius Slovak, Barberton
1928•06 21 09 Christ the King, East Cleveland
1922•06 28 09 Sacred Heart of Jesus Hungarian, Elyria
1872•08 30 09 St. Procop Czech
1906•09 19 09 St. Hyacinth Polish
1912•09 26 09 St. Hedwig Polish, Akron
1908•09 27 09 St. Stanislaus Polish, Lorain
1890•09 27 09 St. Ladislaus Hungarian, Lorain
1887•10 04 09 St. Francis, German (school continued)

1905•10 04 09 SS. Cyril & Methodius Slovene, Lorain
1895•10 18 09 St. George Lithuanian
1907•10 31 09 St. John the Baptist Slovak Akron
1921•11 01 09 St. Margaret of Hungary Hungarian, Orange
1975•11 07? 09 Community of Saint Malachi†
1891•11 08 09 St. Casimir Polish
1965•11 14 09 Holy Trinity Bedford Hts.
1910•11 15 09 St. Mary Bedford
1860•11 21 09 St. Paul Euclid
1935•11 28 09 Christ the King Croat, Akron (now chapel-of-ease)

1906•12 13 09 Holy Trinity Slovak, Lorain
1922•12 20 09 St. Vitus Croat, Lorain
1950•12 27 09 St. Robert Bellarmine Euclid (weekday Masses before 1 Jan.)
1947•01 09 10 St. Louis Cleveland Heights
1905•01 17 10 St. Hedwig Polish, Lakewood
1915•01 24 10 Sacred Heart of Jesus Hungarian, Akron
1925•02 13 10 St. Christine Euclid
1896•03 07 10 St. Joseph German, Lorain
1899•03 14 10 St. Rose
1903•04 10 10 Blessed Sacrament

1853•04 11 10 St. Peter (last Mass 04 04 10)
1935•04 17 10 Corpus Christi Polish
1915•04 25 10 St. Cecilia
1888•05 02 10 Sacred Heart of Jesus Polish
1950•05 03 10 SS. Philip & James
1905•05 09 10 St. Barbara Polish
1922•05 09 10 Our Lady of Mercy Slovak
1860•05 16 10 Assumption of Mary Brook Park
1903•05 23 10 St. Wendelin Slovak
1924•05 30 10 Annunciation

1848•05 30 10 St. Patrick West Park‡
1883•06 06 10 St. Adalbert Czech-Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament African-American
1948•06 12 10 St. Margaret Mary South Euclid
1901•06 20 10 St. Lawrence Slovene
1936•06 20 10 Our Lady of Mount Carmel—East Italian
1908•06 26 10 St. James Lakewood (Mass celebrated next day)
1887•06 27 10 St. Mary Akron (now chapel-of-ease)
1904•06 30 10 St. Emeric Hungarian
(of the last 58 closures: 33 national parishes + 1 other personal parish + 5 in african-american communities)
____________________________________
*At origin: African-American was listed Negro, Czech listed as Bohemian, Hungarian listed as Magyar.
†Community of Saint Malachi was an unique personal parish, they formerly worshipped in the parish church of Saint Malachi.
‡Collinwood and West Park have been annexed to Cleveland for about a century, but there were other parishes in Cleveland of the same patronage.
§1975•San Juan Bautista, became La Sagrada Familia 1998
nota bene: Conversion of St. Paul has changed status from parish to shrine.
St. Colman, St. Ignatius and St. Stephen have been given conditional reprieves. Which comes to: $$$
POSTCRIPTUM 30 JANUARY 2013: By Vatican decrees of 1 March 2012, the parishes in Red have been publicly restored.

closures before lennonism

The closing of parishes in the diocese of Cleveland, outside the city itself was extra-ordinary, until Richard Lennon:

Saint Peter Claver 1945-1959 in Akron was created by the diocese for African-American* Catholics in Akron. The parish had difficulty recruiting members. The tendency for the black population in Akron was to attend existing neighborhood churches, the pastor thought that right too. This storefront church was razed. The few members of Saint Peter Claver then went to St. Mary's. Items from the church began St. Albert's in North Royalton.

Saint Peter, Akron began as a Lithuanian parish 1919-1926. It continued to the end of 1989 as a territorial parish until I-76 and I-77 bought the property. Bit by bit, like several Cleveland parishes, the neighborhood disappeared. The parish records went to St. Mary's.

The diocese thought population would expand near Vermilion. Our Lady, Star of the Sea, 1979-1981 held Masses until it became apparent, that only, a few people came. The parish was suspended, it could open some time in the future.

St. Mary Barberton (Polish) 1912 merged into Sacred Heart of Jesus (Slovene) in 2002, and the parish was renamed Prince of Peace. It was the first time the name of the resultant parish did not contain the former name. This event is used by the chancery as the start of the current re-configuration..

Those were all the parishes closed outside Cleveland before lennonism. It was not normally done in Cleveland, either. The tendency was to merge parishes. Even the names of parishes did not disappear readily. Not all parishes maintained parish status. Some fluctuated from mission status, or chapel and shrine. When numbers dropped far below to-day's standards, parishes (or missions, if that small) were kept open. Church communities spent years in flux. Some begging for a resident priest for years, but even without a priest they continued. Up until the first world war factionalism and strife, in certain parishes, existed. People had greater freedom to 'spout off'. People successfully had priests dismissed. Rome even dismissed the first bishop, Louis Amadeus Rappe.

In 1956, three new parishes were created in Parma (SS. Anthony, Bridget, Columbkille). They received the parish records of SS. Anthony 1880, Bridget 1857, Columbkille (Irish)1871-1957 of Cleveland. Anthony (Italian) and Bridget (Irish) merged at Bridget's from 1938 to 1961. The Italians marched in procession from the old church to the new with statues and banners and paintings. The old St. Anthony's became St. Maron's (Lebanese, Syrian) and is still there. Bridget became part of the inner belt highway, as had Columbkille. Old Columbkille migrated around the intersection of E. 26 and Superior; it progressed clockwise from the NW, to the NE, to the SE corner. The pews, and other stuff went to the new parmese Columbkille.

St. Bridget, Cleveland

In Cleveland, land that held many residences had buildings razed for industrial and commercial buildings, and also for the interstate highway system. SS. Bridget, Columbkille, Martin (Slovak)† and Wenceslaus of Cleveland were razed for roadage. The phrase, 'urban renewal' was often used. St. Wenceslaus (Czech‡)1867-1963 had considered moving their parish to the mission church in Maple Heights, instead they remained and the mission St. Wenceslaus became a separate parish.

Now, St. Joseph (German and Franciscan) 1855-1986 was the temporary home for several ethnic parishes. It became an island amidst highways, which had eaten the entire neighborhood. The building was wanted for preservation, but the second fire started by bums in 1993 pushed it to demolition. It was sadly missed by many. Many of its tall windows were cut into arrangements for the short walls of St. Raphael's. Three windows are now behind the altar of St. Stephen's (German), Cleveland. The glass was made by the same studio in Munich. Some small windows are in St. Stanislaus (Polish, and Franciscan through most of its history¹), Cleveland; the high altar to St. John Cantius (Polish).

St. Ladislas (Slovak) burned in 1970. Mass was still said at the parish for over a year. Insurance disbursements went to the diocese, and a further disbursement was available if construction began before September 1973. On 28 August 1973, a $325,00 brick was laid in Westlake for the new territorial St. Ladislas. It is now one of the least attractive (ugly) churches in the diocese.

Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament, the first African-American* parish 1922-1961, merged into St. Adalbert (Czech‡). Its building on E.79th was in poor shape. Adalbert was beautiful, but getting progressively smaller.

St. Agnes, Euclid Avenue Cleveland, O. (the campanile (bell tower remains) 

Superior Avenue had a herd of Catholic churches. Euclid Avenue had none. It was Millionaire's Row, and only 'decent' people were there. The city's eastern border continued to move. At one time it was E.55th (then Willson), and then E. 79th, and the Hough neighborhood was outside the city. Eventually there was a Catholic middle class and they wanted a parish. The first St.Agnes was built in 1893 on Euclid, and what became E. 82. In 1914 a grand new church was built. By 1960 Hough was a black neighborhood, and a devastating riot hit in the summer of '66. St. Agnes burned in 1973. St. Agnes merged into Our Lady of Fatima in 1980. 

St. Agatha, and later St. Joseph merged into St. Aloysius (Irish at origin). St. Agatha's had a short history. It began in 1945 as a mission of St. Thomas Aquinas in its east end of territory. By the 1960s the Glenville neighborhood was a black neighborhood, and few were Catholic. An attempt at evangelisation was made. In 1971, instead of being sent a pastor, the priest was sent as an administrator. He was told the parish was closing. The people came to Bishop Issenmann's residence, and he relented. The new bishop Pilla, merged the parish in 1975. In 1994 St. Joseph Collinwood became a part of Aloysius too. It became apparent that territorial parishes on Cleveland's east side had difficulty in sustaining their selves. Collinwood has four remaining parishes, three being nationality parishes. 
 
Cleveland's one French parish, Annunciation (Église de l'Annonciation de Cleveland) 1868-1916 merged into St. Malachi (Irish), and the building went to St. Emeric (Hungarian§), which lost theirs to a fire. It was soon sold with a land swap to the Van Sweringen brothers for railroadage. Annunciation had so few Frenchmen, that the parish was enlarged territorially with Irishmen. It used to be difficult to extinguish a parish. There were many parishes that continued to exist with numbers far lower than those supposedly necessary now. What did happen, were parishes reverted to mission status or chapels until they became larger.

St. Edward (Irish)1871, (African-American*)1943, merged with Holy Trinity (German)1880 in 1975. It lasted till 2004. St. Thomas Aquinas once grand church was condemned in 1975, the parish continued till 1993. St. Marian (Italian)1905 was made up of former residents of the village of Rionero Sannitico, Campobasso in Italy. Case Western took some of the neighborhood, the parish was closed in 1975. The records and parishioners went to the nearby Holy Rosary. The building became the Second Bethlehem Baptist Church. The neighborhood had early undergone racial turnover, and St Marian was a white parochial school that had black pupils in Cleveland. St. Josaphat's (Polish) 1908-1998 neighborhood residences (E. 33 between St. Clair and Superior) also disappeared, it has become an art gallery.

St. Mary's 1968 (German) Carroll & W. 30th

St. Mary's of the Assumption (German) 1854-1959, was absorbed steadily, and calculatingly by the Jesuits of St. Ignatius High. The church was razed in 1968. The campus now has a separate chapel. Part of the absorption involved St. Patrick's. St. Mary's became part of St. Patrick's (Irish).

Holy Family (Czech‡) 1911-1988, chapel to1997; Nativity BVM (Slovak) 1903-1993; St. Benedict (Slovak) 1928-1993; St. Mary Czestochowa (Polish) 1914-1996 could not withstand demographic change. St. Benedict especially suffered racial strife. Transfiguration (Polish)1943-1992 was visited by the bush/quayle campaign in 1988, and experienced a fire two years later.

The first parish in the city of Cleveland was St. Mary's on the Flats (or Our Lady of the Lake). It was organised by Irish immigrants in 1826. The previous group of Catholics in northern Ohio had been the Wyandot to the west, part of French Huronia. The first resident priest, John Dillon, came in 1835. He died the next year, 29 years old. The first Mass said in a Catholic church in Cleveland was in 1839. St. Mary's was the cathedral from 1847 to 1852. Some records count it closed in 1848 as the new cathedral parish, St. John's, began. It held Masses for St. Mary of the Assumption, Annunciation, St. Wenceslaus and St. Stanislaus. The term, chapel-of-ease, would fit. The last Mass there was in 1886.

The only other major factor was racial. Antagonism between African-Americans* and other Americans was hard to overcome. The eastern and southeastern wards of Cleveland became unable to 'adequately' sustain parishes. There were attempts at evangelisation, with some success (St. Agatha), but overall the national and local Catholic population of African-Americans is about 3%. The Hough riots of '66, and the Glenville shootings of '68 did great damage to the east side. The desegregation of the public schools a few years later further precipitated 'white flight'. The crux outside of legalities was a turf war. It may have been a legal and political victory, but it was a social loss. To use a non-christian religious term, there was a lot of bad karma going around.

In 1975 a Puerto Rican personal parish was formed as San Juan Bautista (previously Puerto Ricans attended Masses at Our Lady of Fatima, and Conversion of St.Paul on the east side, many had moved to the west side). They, with the Chapel of Cristo Rey, became La Sagrada Familia with a new church built on Detroit in 1998.

Such were, I think, all the closures before Richard Lennon. The rule was to merge parishes, to keep something of their former status alive. An outright suppression (extinction) was rare. Generally, it took nearly complete depopulation and/or fire for a parish to close. Then came Lennon, slow walking, slow talking Lennon. Parishes have been extinguished not for any organic reason, not of necessity, and certainly devoid of charity since his appearance.

Cleveland has suffered change and decay, but where people wanted to really stay they stood. Our Lady of Mount Carmel-East was reduced in status from parish to oratory(chapel), and was financed by pasta dinners, and stayed "vibrant", though tiny, under the administration of one indefatigable parishioner, Rose Criniti. The neighborhood is part of a great swath of territory on the East Side that is impoverished, and depopulated of the original residents and parishioners. It was suppressed by Lennon on 20 June 2010 [his second of the day, St. Lawrence being the first], without even the courtesy of being listed in the diocesan closings. 
__________________________________________
nota bene: There is irregularity in dates, the official closing date and the last Mass said, are not always the same. It is very easy to find, e.g., 1958 or 1959 used for the same parish.

 *Negro was the term used before the 1970s. It is the correct historical term. The term 'colored' was also a correct usage. Now both terms are considered 'uncomfortable'.
 † As St. Martin (of Tours) disappeared in Cleveland, St. Martin began in Maple Hts. 1960
‡Bohemian was used before. Bohemia is the largest Czech province.§Magyar was often used before.

addenda: ¹The Franciscans [Wisconsin Province] formally left at the end of June 2012.
essay expanded 18 January 2013 after seeing lines absent on Hough/Glenville/Collinwood
  
click for formal list 

Ding Dong! The Witch is dead.

Before Ted Turner bought The Wizard of Oz, it was nationally broadcast yearly (once, twice). For a few years it was around St. Patrick's. At one time Danny Kaye served as host for the movie on Sunday nights, and a laundry powder company put one of eight puppets in their box of detergent. Dorothy, her dog, three friends and the witch were often reproduced.

It is a truly enjoyable film. It easily quotable, and its characters are iconic, and referential. America (the music group) had a line, "But Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man, that he didn't, didn't already have." A Mike Myers skit on Saturday Night Live popularised a rude phrase about flying monkeys.

Many, many people have quoted lines, or made references, in everyday conversation, not everyone picks up on it. I have often been stiff, and squeaked, "oil can". There was a joke that Jerry Falwell clicked his heels and said, "There's no place like Rome."

It came from a novel (from Frank Baum) and the 1939 movie was a combined collaborative effort. It became the best known and loved american fairy tale.
_______________________
Munchkins: Ding Dong! The Witch is dead. Which old Witch? The Wicked Witch! Ding Dong! The Wicked Witch is dead. Wake up - sleepy head, rub your eyes, get out of bed. Wake up, the Wicked Witch is dead. She's gone where the goblins go, Below - below - below. Yo-ho, let's open up and sing and ring the bells out. Ding Dong' the merry-oh, sing it high, sing it low. Let them know The Wicked Witch is dead!

Mayor: As Mayor of the Munchkin City, In the County of the Land of Oz, I welcome you most regally.

Barrister: But we've got to verify it legally, to see

Mayor: To see?

Barrister: If she

Mayor: If she?

Barrister: Is morally, ethic'lly

Father No.1: Spiritually, physically

Father No. 2: Positively, absolutely

Munchkins: Undeniably and reliably Dead

Coroner: As Coroner I must aver, I thoroughly examined her. And she's not only merely dead, she's really most sincerely dead.

Mayor: Then this is a day of Independence For all the Munchkins and their descendants

Barrister: If any.

Mayor: Yes, let the joyous news be spread The wicked Old Witch at last is dead!

Beauty of St. Aloysius

The #1 bus on St. Clair has zipped by St. Aloysius for several decades. The passengers can ride from Public Square to Euclid, and not pay special attention to this marvelous church. Brick is quicker and cheaper than stone to build with. A lot of buildings were built with brick on the main avenues of Cleveland. Brick is less grand than stone. For those reasons one may overlook Aloysius.

It is dense with beauty in everything. The serenity and grandeur of sacred space is all about you upon entering. There is beautiful glass, statuary, shrines, paintings. It is beautiful and full of stories and lessons for those willing to see, and have understanding of christian theology and iconography (understanding symbolism). Aloysius was a daughter parish of St. Thomas Aquinas, if one looks at the time scale--more of a twin sister.

The neighborhood has had major change in the decades. It went from village to urban in less than a generation. Later as post-war highway expansion and increasing per capita wealth led people out and to Glenville (and so many other communities in the Middle West), and the immigration changed from over the Atlantic, to from south of the Ohio River the population changed. White flight, increased poverty, and finally a reduction of population changed demography.
Glenville was a separate municipality at the time Aloysius was founded--1898. Cleveland was annexing neighboring villages at that time. Cleveland's mayor from 1901 to 1909 was Tom Johnson, "the best mayor of the best run city in America". The Republicans ran a minor german beer magnate and beat him. Glenville and neighboring Collinwood, both on the northeast of Cleveland were annexed in 1910. The small and rich village of Bratenahl, on the lake shore betwixt them is still separate. It had the summer homes of the millionaires from Euclid Avenue. During Prohibition they received canadian whiskey by boat.

Cleveland was expanding, soon it was the 5th most populous city in the country. It maintained a near 900,000 population till the 1960s. In the 1930s and 1940s Glenville was very jewish. By the late 1960s it became very black, now it is about 98% so. In 1968 it suffered police shootings and riots. St. Aloysius was an irish parish, that had some germans and a few others.

Bishop Issenmann (1966-74) lived in Bratenahl and often went to St. Aloysius. Aloysius still has the visiting bishop's chair. ...a sister parish... St. Philip Neri was quietly suppressed by Lennon prior to the "official" announcement of reductions. A wooden statue of St. Philip Neri is now at Aloysius.

Main entrance has three double bronze doors, each door has three bas-reliefs. The left one has some of the most dramatic Old Testament scenes, truly edifying art.
The Vatican II changes were implemented keeping a beautiful rail. Some removed pews were sold to parishioners.
The stained glass is on the floor level, and a clerestory level. Beautiful south german painterly style. In the bottom right corners of the evangelist windows surrounding the original altar is the maker's name FX Zettler of Munich.
Over the years, Saint Agatha (1945-1974) and Saint Joseph parishes and schools were merged into Aloysius. There was an odd situation of Saint Joseph in which the parish closed for years, and the school remained open. Saint Joseph was the territorial, and original, parish in Collinwood (1877-1994). When the new church was built (1922) several blocks away, the school was on the top two floors, and one walked down steps to the church. Saint Joseph began as a mission church from St. Paul (Euclid). St. Jerome (1919) was a daughter parish of St. Joseph. Catholics along the lake shore petitioned the bishop in 1918 for a new parish.

A Sunday Mass is extremely warm and pleasant at Aloysius. At the beginning there is a near promenade of the parish with welcoming hand shakes and hugs. There is a reprise in the usual point after the Pater Noster. It is not the only parish in Cleveland that does this, others could still follow. Both they and St. Timothy engage in this joyous custom, and in hearty singing. Both are currently staffed with non-diocesan priests: Marianists and Capuchin Franciscans respectively.