The Vatican has has ruled in favor of Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput’s 2014 decision to close the parish at St. Ann’s Church in Bristol Borough.
The 109-year-old Catholic church on Dorrance Street is now a diocese worship center and is operated by nearby St. Mark’s Church. The parish closed on July 1, 2014, but the priest from St. Mark’s continues to hold a weekly service in the St. Ann building.
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Bristol Borough Council President and lifelong Saint Ann’s member Ralph DiGuiseppe told LevittownNow.com he learned Thursday night that the Vatican denied an appeal to Chaput’s decision that was filed by parishioners last year.
“We said we would fight this and leave no stone unturned, and we did,” DiGuiseppe said.
The council president led the movement that included the hiring of Boston-based Canon law consultant Peter Borre and two of the top Canon lawyers in Italy. Borre told St. Ann supporters last year that their effort was a long shot and warned that Canon law was much different than the legal system in the United States. A 48-page appeal was sent to Vatican officials last summer.
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“This may be the only shot, unless Archbishop Chaput wakes up with some new revelation,” Canon law consultant Peter Borre told a group of people hoping to the save the church in 2014.
Support from the leadership of the Trinitarians who once oversaw the church was lacking during the appeal process, DiGuiseppe noted. He added that there was support from the priests who oversaw the parish but their Trinitarian leaders did not allow them to fight for the church.
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He told LevittownNow.com St. Ann supporters offered many reasons to Catholic leadership as to why the parish should remain open, including ways to pay off the debt and even have a budget surplus.
“Father Mooney (of St. Mark’s) wants to keep services at St. Ann’s as long as the bills are paid and people show up,” DiGuiseppe said.
Only about $17,000 of the $30,000 raised to fight the church closing has been spent, according to DiGuiseppe. He said he is working with supporters to find a way to divvy the money up to support St. Jude’s Hospital for Children and possibly even repair the St. Ann Church bell tower.
