St. Mary Roman Catholic Church at 3 Elm St. in Northampton is for sale. The city of Northampton has no intention of buying the property, unlike in Holyoke where city officials hope the City Council will OK a $50,000 purchase of the shuttered Mater Dolorosa Church in its downtown.
St. Mary Roman Catholic Church at 3 Elm St. in Northampton is for sale. The city of Northampton has no intention of buying the property, unlike in Holyoke where city officials hope the City Council will OK a $50,000 purchase of the shuttered Mater Dolorosa Church in its downtown. Credit: GAZETTE FILE PHOTO

NORTHAMPTON — While the city of Holyoke explores plans to buy a shuttered Catholic church in its downtown, Northampton officials say the city has no intention of making a similar move with the historic St. Mary’s church for sale in its downtown.

“I have not been approached,” said Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz, when asked if anyone has gone to him with the idea of the city buying St. Mary’s of the Assumption Church at the corner of Elm and State streets.

Moreover, the mayor said that he has no plan or intention for the city to purchase the historic church “or any other property,” from the Diocese of Springfield. The church closed in 2010 as part of a wave of consolidations announced by the diocese.

A number of parishioners have fought unsuccessfully to preserve and keep St. Mary’s open as a church.

Diocese spokesman Mark Dupont said that a request for proposals for St. Mary’s went out a few months ago, and that the process is ongoing.

“We certainly would be open to talk to any interested party,” said Dupont, on the possibility of the diocese selling St. Mary’s to the city.

St. Mary’s is currently listed on Colebrook Realty Services’ website, although no price for the property has been given.

Holyoke deal

Meanwhile, city officials in Holyoke agreed to buy Mater Dolorosa Church at the corner of Maple and Lyman streets from the diocese for $50,000. The purchase must still be approved by the City Council.

In 2017, the diocese moved to have the historic church demolished. The church closed in 2011, sparking an extensive and long-running protest.

Dupont said that the diocese has a history of trying to repurpose churches, and that in the case of Mater Dolorosa, there were serious structural concerns with the church.

“It’s a somewhat different situation (than the situation at St. Mary’s),” Narkewicz said .

Still, Narkewicz did say that the city is interested in the fate of the Northampton church from a historic preservation perspective. which is located in the Elm Street Historic District.

“The city wants to see the historic character of the building preserved,” Narkewicz sad.

He also said that the city’s zoning was modified several years ago to provide more flexibility for what kinds of uses historic buildings can be used for, in order to encourage their reuse.

Bera Dunau can be reached at bdunau@gazettenet.com.