Catholic church in Olney to shutter

FOR FRAN McFADDEN, a member of the Incarnation of Our Lord parish for 55 years, the news yesterday that the Archdiocese of Philadelphia would shutter the Olney church building was "devastating."

McFadden, 70, graduated from the parish school along with her four siblings and her two daughters, she said. Faith is part of McFadden and so is Incarnation, she said.

"It's not easy. You give your life to your faith then your church is gone," said McFadden, who immigrated to the United States from Ireland when she was 7 years old. "There is an opening in my heart."

She's not alone. Archbishop Charles Chaput relegated three church buildings - Incarnation, Our Mother of Sorrows in Bridgeport, Montgomery County, and Holy Saviour Church in Linwood, Delaware County - "to profane but not sordid use effective July 15," according to an archdiocese statement.

The canonical designation means the churches won't be used any longer as places of worship and will close as Roman Catholic churches, the statement said.

By yesterday afternoon, McFadden, 70, was fielding phone calls from concerned "old-timers," she said. "They want to know what's going on? When it's closing."

Many knew the building's end was inevitable since July 2013 when Incarnation merged with St. Helena's parish, also in Olney. In that merger, Incarnation's real-estate holdings, debt and assets were transferred to St. Helena's.

A small group of longtime parishioners received permission from the pastor of St. Helena's, Monsignor Joseph Trinh, to hold weekly Masses on Fridays and a monthly Sunday Mass.

Carol Henson, an Olney resident, attends the Incarnation Masses in the building's basement. She was a secretary at the parish school for 30 years.

"It was a friendly parish, people just came together," she said. "You just greeted each other automatically."

Henson, a member of St. Helena's parish as well as a member of one of the committees, has no illusions that the archdiocese will change course.

"Once something is done, it's done."

According to the archdiocese statement, the building, on 5th Street near Lindley Avenue, is in need of "extensive repairs that preclude further use."

The 91-year-old structure requires $263,000 in masonry repairs over the next two to three years, according to a September 2013 report by an independent engineering firm.

The building also needs roof and interior work in addition to its routine maintenance costs.

Such expenses "would jeopardize the stability of parish finances and vital ministerial programs," the statement said.

Chaput had removed Incarnation's previous pastor, Geraldo Pinero, in 2012 for operating an online business.