“Close and Raze”
This past weekend, our parish received a letter from the Archbishop of Seattle, His Excellency J. Peter Sartain. In it, he informed us that it was his decision to issue a decree to “close and raze” our parish church of Holy Rosary.
This is a terrible decision for a host of reasons. Indeed, the reasons given in the letter all involve the finances of restoration. And the number repeatedly quoted was the largest one, $18 million. This, we are told, is what it would take to fix the church.
Except that this does not match what the Chancery, the architects, and the restorers told us back in May.
We were told that it would take $2.249 million to conduct repairs and erect scaffolding necessary to reoccupy the church. An additional $6.691 million would be required to make needed structural and roof repairs, which could be done over the course of several years.
The $17.6 million figure includes earthquake retrofitting and a complete replacement of all electrical and plumbing systems, to restore the church to essentially “as new” condition. None of which are pressing concerns.
This letter was clearly written by beancounters and bureaucrats for the Archbishop’s signature, for it contains nearly nothing of the solicitude of a spiritual father. In fact, the choice of words seems in many cases to be calculated to inflict cruelty.
“Close and raze.”
When the letter was read to the people gathered for the Vigil Mass, the Archdiocese sent a media relations person to speak with the press gathered here for the announcement. It was all about the beancounters and bureaucrats defending themselves, and not at all about the sadness and shock of a grieving people. And indeed, the spokesperson inflated the dollar amounts, making it seem like an inevitable decision.
What they did not send, however, was a bishop to speak to the parish community. What they did not do was to provide pastoral care for the emotionally shattered people of God. In fact, while the parish itself was not suppressed, a parish requires a church. And the subsequently published FAQ speaks of replacing the church with low income housing.
No church, no parish. Close and raze.
Now, Tacoma clearly needs more low income housing. And it was repeatedly pointed out that our parish is poor. But as a friend said on Twitter, “we understand the need for housing but evicting Our Lord from our community is not the answer”.
And this is the thing: Holy Rosary Church is not just a church. Holy Rosary is an icon of the Lord in Tacoma, evangelizing through beauty. It is a symphony of architecture, statuary, and stained glass. And surely the poor deserve beauty as much as the wealthy? My friend Toni Vercillo has written a lovely reflection on this, prompted by a man she met on campus yesterday, which I encourage you to read: “Costs Not Included: the Spiritual Dimension of Saving Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Catholic Church“.
“I hope they don’t do it; I hope they don’t bring in the wrecking ball and knock her down”, he said. …
This is his neighborhood. He had lived here, off and on, his whole life. During his ‘bad years’ he would look out his bedroom window and see the steeple with its cross on top and it made him feel ‘warm’. He said it had a way of ‘talking’ to him; of calming him down; of making him want to try again. I assured him that I did not think that that was weird at all when he expressed concern that I would. I told him I knew exactly what he was talking about because I experience such moments too.
“Do me a favor”, I said, “and promise me that when this fence is taken down and the Church is open again that you will come inside her.”
“What? Really? Me?” he appeared incredulous that I would ask him such a thing and added, “I don’t belong in no Church.”
I reminded him that he had expressed the desire that the Church not be destroyed and asked him again that if his wish came true that he would come inside.
“I will”, he said, “I promise I will.”
Holy Rosary is a catechism to the glory of God, towering over downtown Tacoma and I-5. But instead of looking at the transcendentals, instead of looking at the beauty and goodness and truth, the beancounters and bureaucrats looked at cold hard cash. They figured nobody would want to pony up the money to restore this glorious gem.
And just in case somebody might think about trying, they exaggerated the cost in dollars and heaped contempt upon those who might wish to save it.
In fact, the parish was specifically and explicitly told months ago to make no effort at fund raising or appealing for volunteers. Essentially, we were told not to try.
“Close and raze.”
The beancounters and bureaucrats have miscalculated. They thought nobody would care about this old church, or about its poor parishioners.
As I write this, an independent organization is raising money for the restoration of Holy Rosary church and preparing the canonical appeal to the decree. This organization is called Save Tacoma’s Landmark Church (STLC), and it’s a registered charity. They have retained the services of a Canon lawyer, as well as a raft of professionals as volunteers.
Yesterday, parish families began praying daily the Rosary in front of the closed church at noon and again at 7pm. These will continue throughout the appeal period. Please join us, or if you can’t, please pray the Rosary at home for the restoration of our church and our parish.
During the first of those Rosaries yesterday, STLC received $175,000 worth of pledges. This, in one day.
The beancounters and bureaucrats have miscalculated. They thought cruelty and mockery would dishearten us, would break us.
“Close and raze” they said.
I say, this is Our Lady’s Church, erected in her honour and to the everlasting glory of her Son. If Our Lady of the Holy Rosary wishes her parish to continue, she will find a way.
So let us, in the words of Saint Augustine, “pray as though everything depended on God, and work as though everything depended on you”.
Pray that this iconic church will be restored, so that the parish can continue and succeed in its mission to evangelize through beauty and truth and goodness.
And work for that restoration.
Because at the end of the day, the decision is in the hands of the Lord, in which we place our hope and our trust, and not in the hands of the beancounters and bureaucrats.
How to help: Save Tacoma’s Landmark Church
Edited to correct description of what $18 million buys.
Bravo!
Thank you for writing this! I could hardly hold back the tears while reading it. As a brand new Catholic myself, but a long time parochial school student and now parent of two; your words give me much hope and highlight the strength of our community, our faith community, and the community of Tacoma. We will not rest. We will not give up. We will come together as a community; Catholic, Christian, other denominations, agnostics and atheists alike. We are all part of this town and we can all see what is good and what is right. This majestic icon that has stood nearly a century, with its towering steeple and cross atop, shining down on all of us, blessing us with its beauty and grace, will not fall! It is a symbol of hope to all, and everytime I see it, I know that I am home.
Thank you, dear Thom Ryng. Based on what you and others have been sharing, it appears as though something has gone terribly wrong on the part of the Seattle Archdiocese. I hope and pray that our Archbishop takes heed, addresses the concerns, and takes action so that at least some measure of trust is restored. I was shocked by the contents of his letter; not the ultimate decision. Among other things, I thought of that old song about taking paradise and putting up a parking lot. I cannot believe the slightest hint of replacing Holy Rosary with a housing project would be revealed, and it shows an absolute disconnect on the part of the Diocese after spending hours listening to the heartfelt concerns of willing Parishioners.
I also have a blog entry on the subject, written from the perspective of a family who has had four generations attend Holy Rosary.
https://grammyputer.wordpress.com/save-holy-rosary-tacoma/
Great post! Thank you for writing it, and thank you for the link.
“Holy Rosary is a catechism to the glory of God…” What a profound description of this temple of God named in honor of THE temple of God, His holy mother. A ‘beautiful church’, but so much more. The sin of injustice weighs on those who would deny the faithful time and opportunity to save her in order to advance their own agenda through deceit. Rather than the church building being razed, the church people have raised up! To God’s greater glory!
My great grandparents, grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles, cousins, nieces, and nephews were married in Holy Rosary Church. My German ancestors helped build the church. I was baptized, had my first Confession, first Holy Communion, and attended school at Holy Rosary, before my family moved. Many of my happiest memories are of being inside this beloved church. I still remember Father Lawrence’s homily at my First Communion almost 60 years ago. I remember our procession on the feast of Corpus Christi when I was in first grade. I have family that lived in Auburn who would frequently drive to Holy Rosary for Mass because my sister-in-law said she felt like she was in Heaven whenever she attended Mass there. I felt the same, surrounded by so much beauty in the religious art. For small children, who don’t understand the Mass and the Sacraments, the physical beauty taught them about Jesus before they could read. It is Holy Ground.
It seems to me, that the archdiocesan powers that be had their minds made up early on, and only gave lip service to the parishioners. My heart is breaking over this decision. The fact that the parishioners were actually told NOT to do anything to save the church disgusts me.
I realize the age of the Church is only one century, nothing like the age of Notre Dame in Paris. When Norte Dame burned, people of all faiths and no faith immediately understood the importance art and history have on people. Of course it will be repaired. However, a hundred year old church in a country that’s less than 250 years old, is significant. The majority of parishioners at Holy Rosary have always been poor, since its foundation. But no one told those first parishioners that they were too poor to build and support a church! The idea that poverty is a reason not to have an historic and beautiful church is insulting to those who started the church and to those who still come. God help us! To the archdiocese, ye of little faith, to not even give the parishioners a chance makes me ashamed. As a former Tacoman, and former parishioner of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, I pledge to support the cause of repairing the parish I still consider home. Our Lady, Holy Mother of God, pray for your children. Please entreat your Son to save this church.
I am praying for your parish!!!
I read the Archbishop’s decree, and it hit me so much like Judas lecturing Our Lord before his betrayal, on the misuse of money by the weeping woman. How dare she lavishly anoint Jesus with everything she had. The money would’ve been better spent on the poor! The poor will always be with us, but when the Son of Man returns, will he find faith?
So well put!
While I am not religious now, I was raised Catholic here in Tacoma. Holy Rosary has always been here. It has always been like a friendly Welcome Home coming back from my many adventures. To have it demolished would be a travesty to so many people. It should be listed on the Historical Registry
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