The rectory, convent and two garages at the former St. Cecilia’s Church, Exeter, will be razed starting Tuesday. The project will take three to four days.
The rectory, convent and two garages at the former St. Cecilia’s Church, Exeter, will be razed starting Tuesday. The project will take three to four days.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
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The former St. Cecilia’s convent will be razed on Jan. 26. The building is estimated to be over 100 years old. The former church is shown at the far right of the photo.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
An unidentified employee of Stell Enterprises Inc. marks the buildings to be razed beginning on Tuesday. In the background is Wyoming Area Catholic School.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
EXETER – The former St. Cecilia Church’s abandoned convent, rectory and garages located in front of Wyoming Area Catholic School will be razed beginning on Tuesday with the project lasting three to four days.
St. Barbara’s Parish, Exeter, led by Fr. Michael Finn, currently holds the rights to the property and buildings that have been standing for more than 100 years.
A leadership team was formed and headed by P.J. Pribula. He and his wife, Lisa, have two children currently attending WAC.
“Our leadership team met with the vendor and maintenance team from St. Barbara’s Parish as well as Mr. Pribula, parent to two of our current students, who has been instrumental in moving this project forward,” WAC Principal Eileen Rishcoff said, in a prepared statement to parents. “This space will eventually become our parking lot for the school and the removal of the buildings will offer our beautiful school visibility from Wyoming Avenue.”
“Fr. Finn has inherited a tough responsibility by closing St. Cecilia’s Church and having to liquidate the parish,” Pribula said. “It has been an unpleasant task.”
According to Pribula, the large parcel of land containing WAC, the former St. Cecilia’s Church and the former rectory, convent and garages, will be sold off into two lots. One lot will be WAC and a future parking lot and the other will be the former church and the parking lot at the rear of the church. The dividing line will be the driveway between the church and the school.
“This process has taken a long time, a lot of letters and lot of hard work by seven or eight parents, and we’ve come up with this plan,” Pribula said. “The school will then inherit a parking lot in front of the school giving the school such visibility that it never had before.”
Pribula said for many years, people were not aware there was a school behind the rectory and convent.
“Thanks goes to Bishop Bambera for listened to us, that was the big story,” Pribula added. “Fr. Finn could have said no (to the project) and he could have sold everything. I cannot say enough about the Diocese of Scranton’s financial secretary Jason Morrison. He’s gone above and beyond and has a been a true friend.”
Pribula said a lot of credit goes to the former parishioners of St. Cecilia’s Church.
“Their efforts over the last 100 years, they bought and paid for all of that and left us something to build on that’s going to help the Catholic school and the Catholic faith,” Pribula said. “While St. Cecilia disappears, their memory lives on.”
Pribula said he hopes something could be left on the property to remember St. Cecilia’s Church and parishioners in the future.
The finished paved parking lot may not be completed until some time during this summer.
Mrs. Rishcoff went on to say she assures education at WAC will not be disrupted during deconstruction of the properties and regular school drop-off and dismissal will not be affected.
WAC students are currently attending school in-house during the pandemic.