PROVIDENCE — Due to concern for the deteriorating condition of the church building and a steady decline in Mass attendance and sacramental practice, Rev. Edward Sousa, parish administrator of St. Casimir’s in Providence, has recommended that St. Casimir Parish be closed permanently. After consultation with the diocesan staff, the Diocesan Consultors and the Council of Priests, Bishop Thomas J. Tobin has given his approval and parishioners were notified of the closure which will become effective on July 1, 2017.
“The closing of St. Casimir Parish and its church comes after several years of study, discussion and downsizing,” said Bishop Tobin. “We salute the steadfast faith and devotion of Lithuanian Catholics who have worshipped at St. Casimir’s over the years, but time has taken its toll, and the closing is now unavoidable,” Bishop Tobin added.
In March 2017, due to further physical deterioration of the church roof and ceiling, all worship and occupancy in the church was suspended. The church’s roof and ceiling leakage produced increased interior water damage which began to undermine the stability of the ceiling and walls. Costs for the necessary long-term repair of the church roof were estimated at approximately $90,000 and well beyond financial reach. The last Mass was celebrated on March 19, 2017.
St. Casimir parish has also been facing a sharp decline in sacramental practice and Mass attendance for several years. Only 12 people attended the last Mass celebrated there on March 19. There were no Baptisms, first Communions or Confirmations from 2014-2016 and only one wedding during the same time period. There is no longer a parish religious education program.
Every effort will be made to continue the ongoing spiritual and pastoral care of the remaining parishioners who are encouraged to attend Mass at nearby Catholic churches in the area. The parish sacramental records will be kept at St. Patrick Parish in Providence.
History
St. Casimir Parish in Providence served the Lithuanian Catholic faithful beginning in 1919 when the first Mass was celebrated in the lower-church of the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul. St. Casimir Church was built at its present location on Smith Street in 1935. Since that time, generations of families have heard the Word of God and received the sacraments there.
