Archbishop Officially Decrees Closure Of St. Joseph the Worker Church

St. Joseph the Worker Church in Falls Township will close its doors for good next month.

During services at St. Frances Cabrini Parish in Fairless Hills on Sunday, an official canonical decree on the upcoming closure of the worship center that previously held weekly services until last June was announced. Last year, the St. Joseph the Worker Parish merged with the St. Frances Cabrini Parish as part of a cost cutting move implemented by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

“The Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced today that Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. relegated the Saint Joseph the Worker Church building to profane but not sordid use effective November 1, 2015. This formal, canonical designation means that the church will no longer serve as a worship site and will close as a Roman Catholic Church,” according to archdiocesan press release.

The church has been expected to close for good since summer, when an open house was held. 

Chaput wrote in the closing notice that the church, which already owed $240,000, requires $121,000 annually to operate and needs more than $1 million in repair work. He also noted that only 10 requests to utilize the church building for liturgical purposes have been received in the past year.

The archbishop wrote that the parish, which is connected to a defunct Catholic school, “does not have any particular architectural, historical, or artistic significance.”

The request to close the worship site came from the pastor and the Parish Leadership Committee. The Archdiocesan Council of Priests and Chaput reviewed the request and approved it.

A developer is looking to use a 12-acre portion of the property for a community for residents aged 55 and over.

The church was founded in 1956. Many of the families that helped build the parish were new to the nearby Levittown neighborhoods.