Churches in Syracuse are Closing their Doors.

At 21, it's hard to imagine turning 40, much less being part of one organization for 40 years. Today we met a woman who was part of Our Lady of Solace Church for that long. When Sister Mirabito told me about her involvement in her church, I thought of my own grandparents who always sat in the front pew, who never missed communion, and who like Sister Mirabito would be devestated if their parish closed. But that's what Sister Mirabito and others at Our Lady of Solace are going through as they get ready to go to their first mass as All Saints parishioners next Sunday.

The Syracuse Catholic Diocese is planning on closing a total of 40 (see a theme in numbers here?) catholic churches throught the city. When churches close, parishes from different churches merge. Sister Mirabito said that when this happens the parish loses 30%-40% of its people. Its no wonder she said what she will miss the most is the people who can't make it to the new All Saints Church, which is at the old St. Therese location.

People from both St. Therese and Our Lady of Solace Church said that waitng while the Diocese chose which church would be the new site of All Saints, was painful and emotional. But for one young woman who was part of St. Therese, changing the name was much more difficult than changing the location. She has burried three family members through St. Therese Church, and while she will always have the memories of those loved ones, losing the name of where they rest has been difficult for her.

I have a soft spot for the elderly, having brought communion to my grandmother's house every Sunday mass and wheeling my other grandmother from her room to the nursing home chapel, it was difficult seeing Sister Mirabito close to tears today.

Although it was an emotional topic for some of the people we talked to today, covering the story was fun! We were at a meeting for new involved All Saints parishioners, they were sending out letters welcoming people to the new church. They were all very candid about their lives, joking around with each other, and just like my grandparents...they didn't want me to leave their meeting without having a cookie or a sandwich.