BALTIMORE — As autumn settles in, Catholic churches in Baltimore marked for closure are planning and holding their final services. They are all scheduled to close by December 1.
This week, as outlined in decrees sent to the closing parishes, there's a way to appeal to the Archbishop himself.
Members of a parish who claim "to have been aggrieved by [a] Decree [have] the right to seek its revocation," according to the Archdiocese. They have until this Friday, October 11, to either hand-deliver the appeal, or mail it, postmarked by that date.
WMAR spoke with parishioners at St. Ann's Catholic Church on Greenmount Avenue, a historic Black Catholic parish, aiming to do just that.
"It is so important to me that, it's a family member of mine. It's part of me," said Bobby Jackson, a parishioner and member of a committee to save St. Ann's.
"I felt sad, and disappointed," said Rachel Carrenard, part of the committee, and of the church community for nearly 7 decades, "that they would close St. Ann's after 150 years of being here."
This summer, WMAR spoke with dismayed parishioners days after they learned their parishes were among a final list of Catholic Church closures, part of a larger downsizing of churches in and around the city.
Church attendance, the Archdiocese of Baltimore says, is dropping, and costs to maintain buildings are piling up.
"Let's embrace new life," said Bishop Bruce Lewandowski, vicar for Baltimore City, in an interview with WMAR-2 News' Jack Watson last July, "and look at the great opportunity we have before us to make history. It really is that, and I want the history to not be that we closed churches; only that will be part of the history in the story that's told. But I want the history to tell the story of the new and exciting initiatives that were made possible because we got out from underneath the maintenance and care, and management of buildings and property."
RELATED: St. Ann’s Catholic Church, with its 150-year history, among Archdiocese closures
This decree says St. Ann's must merge with nearby St. Francis Xavier, another historic Black Catholic parish. Within the document: a list of reasons the Archdiocese chose St. Ann's, which parishioners are looking to challenge.
"We're going to respond with all the assets this church has brought to the community. It needs to stay here," said Erich March, a St. Ann's parishioner.
"We have a lot of actual, factual things and figures that can counter some of the things they're saying," Jackson continued.
Parishioners say their parish is self-sufficient, and is active socially and charitably in its Greenmount community.
"In our pantry, for example," Jackson explained. "We feed people every month here, and people come here through the weekdays and get bags of groceries."
Parishioners tell WMAR they hope the appeal succeeds. If the appeal fails, St. Ann's is marked to close on December 1.
READ MORE: Archdiocese: Closing churches will begin final masses in fall, close by December
