Guardian Angels Parish expected to close 5 of 7 churches

Meager finances and dwindling attendance will force Guardian Angels Parish in Harrison to reduce its seven churches into two campuses later this year.

“Decisions to recommend the closing of churches are never easy and never taken lightly,” said the Rev. John Lendvai in a letter to parishioners. “This is a very challenging and difficult process for all of us. And yet, one we cannot ignore.”

Lendvai deferred further questions to Jennifer Antkowiak, spokeswoman for the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh. She could not be reached for comment.

Guardian Angels consists of seven churches and 15 related buildings in a wide area from Harmar to Harrison. They are:

• St. Alphonsus in Springdale;

• Holy Martyrs in Tarentum;

• Holy Family in Creighton;

• St. Ladislaus in Natrona;

• Most Blessed Sacrament in Natrona Heights;

• Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Natrona Heights;

• Our Lady of Victory in Harmar.

A parish assembly is scheduled for 1 p.m. July 24 at Most Blessed Sacrament for Lendvai to reveal recommendations that will be submitted to Bishop David Zubik.

Parishioners, while saddened, appear to be taking the news in stride.

“It’s a normal course of business these days,” said longtime parishioner Marilyn Huey, who has attended Mass for six decades at one of the three Roman Catholic churches along West Ninth Avenue in Tarentum. She has gone through three mergers and said “this is nothing new.”

“I grew up in St. Peter’s, which merged with Sacred Heart, and then we merged with St. Clement’s,” Huey said.

In 1992, Holy Martyrs was formed.

“If you don’t have the parishioners, you can’t sustain the buildings,” she said. “It’s sad, but with the low numbers of people that are coming, what are you gonna do?”

Like Huey, other parishioners seem resigned to the impending closures.

JoAnne Klimovich Harrop | Tribune-Review

The Rev. Andrew Fischer gives his homily during a Mass culminating the end of Catholic Schools Week in 2020 at Most Blessed Sacrament Church in Natrona Heights.

Ed Mahdik and his wife, Lucy, have attended services in Natrona Heights for more than 50 years. When they met, Lucy was a member of Our Lady of Perpetual Help along 11th Avenue and Ed was a member of Most Blessed Sacrament along Montana Avenue. Their children went to grade school at the now-defunct Blessed Sacrament elementary that operated for 66 years.

While they attend Most Blessed Sacrament on Sundays, the couple is familiar with each of the seven parish churches since they travel for weekday Mass between the different buildings.

“We have to accept that it is what it is,” Ed Mahdik said.

“We accept the fact that you can’t keep on like this. We have 22 buildings, and there’s no way they can be taken care of.”

Guardian Angels Parish was a product of diocesan regroupings nearly two years ago.

Since then, building-related costs represent 72% of the parish’s nonstaff expenses. Nearly half of all parish expenses are related to the buildings.

In his letter, Lendvai said a decline in weekly offerings, along with building expenses, could force the parish out of money by fall or early winter.

Church leaders spent several months conducting focus groups, interviews and surveys. The top comment from people, he said, was that the parish needs to reduce the number of buildings.

Feedback shows 100% of parishioners indicated the parish cannot continue to maintain 22 buildings, he wrote.

In total, Guardian Angels includes about 3,000 families.

Lendvai wrote it is likely the ministry could be supported with one church, but, given the wide geographic range, he believes it is better to keep two.

In coming months, all of the churches and ancillary buildings will be evaluated for their conditions, necessary repairs, utility expenses, seating capacity, accessibility and parking.

Decisions will be made based on what the parish can afford, what it needs to deliver ministry and missions and what it can sustain. Updates will be provided in weekly bulletins and on its website.

“We realize that such closures involve a sense of loss and grief,” Lendvai wrote.

Longtime member and music minister Verne Bergstrom couldn’t hide his disappointment but said he expected the news.

“You walk into church, and it’s all people with white hair,” he said. “The decline of people attending church, especially younger people, is sad.”

Bergstrom has attended Most Blessed Sacrament for more than a decade and has taught CCD for the parish, as well as played piano for several of the church choirs.

He has struggled for years over the lack of involvement and volunteerism by younger folks in the parish.

“I often think, ‘What can I do?’ ” Bergstrom said.

He lamented the loss of history and architecture that lies in many of the older church buildings, such as at St. Ladislaus in Natrona.

“The building is so beautiful,” he said. “And it’s walkable for people in Natrona. Same with St. Alphonsus in Springdale. What are people there gonna do?”