St. Mary’s Catholic Church could see its doors shut later this year after a Decree was issued by the Diocese of Prince George.
The news came during mass on Sunday morning, which Pastoral Chairperson Ron Polillo said came as a shock to everyone at the church as there was no consultation beforehand.
The three reasons for the decree were a decline in mass, demographic changes, and duplication of services, which Polillo disagrees with.
“We’re actually up in terms of the amount of parishioners going to mass.”
“The change in demographics, we have seen a younger and more diverse congregation, and duplication of services, we have unique programs like our youth program, and we have a couple other programs.”
Polillo added they have as much as 1,800 parishioners, with between 250 to 300 of them going to mass on a regular weekend.
The church is also calling on the community to write a letter to the Diocese with a request to overturn the decision.
Polillo said they only have ten days from when the Decree was issued to appeal it, which is only the first step.
“We have another tight window to ask for that Decree to be revoked, and then we wait for a response from the Diocese.”
“Then from there, through the canon law, we can take it right to the Vatican in Rome.”
Polillo said a Church in St. Louis, Missouri had a similar Decree which was overturned by the Vatican, and hopes to have the same outcome.
In a Facebook post from the Church, it said there will also be a parish meeting on Saturday, February 7th in the school gym.
He added they are a vibrant, growing, and diverse parish, and makes no logical sense for it to close.
If the Decree is put through, the Church, which has been part of the city for 65 years, will close on July 27th, with the elementary school and daycare continuing operations.
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