Nanticoke’s St. Mary’s holds final Mass

NANTICOKE – On Sunday St. Mary of Czestochowa joined the list of Catholic parishes closed by the Diocese of Scranton, which began a restructuring initiative a few years ago.

The church held its final Mass followed by a procession to Holy Trinity Church about two blocks away. Holy Trinity will eventually be the main worship site in the city and take on the new identity of St. Faustina.

As of 2009, there were six Catholic parishes in Nanticoke. By the end of June, there will be one, said Bill Borysewicz, member and organizer for the youth ministry.

St. Francis closed last year and St. Joseph’s closed last week. Holy Trinity will conduct its closing Mass next week, with St. Stanislaus and Holy Child in Sheatown holding their closing Masses in June.

Borysewicz said some of the older parishioners are taking the changes a little hard. For example, St. Stanislaus is the first Polish parish in Northeast Pennsylvania and one of the first in the country, he said. Some of the older parishioners relish that distinction, he added.

For the most part, the congregations in Nanticoke are unifying, Borysewicz said.

“A good majority of them know this has to happen,” he said. The shrinking population in the city coupled with the costs associated with maintaining six parishes made the changes unavoidable, he said.

Borysewicz pointed out the name change to St. Faustina’s helped keep the people “at ease” by making a fresh start instead of keeping one existing parish name at the expense of all others.

Dan Owazany, a member of St. Mary’s for about 50 years, said he feels a bit sad to be losing the church he attended regularly for so many years. He echoed Borysewicz, saying most of the members knew the changes had to come.

Owazany said the Nanticoke parishes are all “one family” though, who work together during the annual picnics and various social societies.

Joan Wall, a member of Holy Child, said she does not harbor any ill feelings because of the cutbacks. She said she is happy there will still be an active parish in the city.

“Not a lot of people go to church,” she said. “Plus there are not enough priests. It’s hard,” she said.

She believes with proper leadership and participation, St. Faustina’s will maintain many of the church traditions in Nanticoke for the future. The participation in the youth group shows how the church will go on.

After the procession, the members of St. Mary’s enjoyed a final gathering at the American Legion in downtown Nanticoke.

The “closing committee” thanked the parishioners who made St. Mary’s successful from 1901 to 2010. Through St. Faustina’s they will continue to remember their roots.

On July 2 and 3, St. Faustina’s will conduct its first annual homecoming festival as a combined Catholic community church in Nanticoke.