HOLYOKE — As the Mater Dolorosa Church undergoes demolition, former parishioners are mourning the loss of a community fixture that spanned generations.
On Wednesday afternoon, a number of former parishioners, some tearful, stood on the nearby streets to view the remains of the church and take photos while part of the structure still stands.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield began demolition on Tuesday following more than seven years of conflict between the diocese and former parishioners who fought to preserve the church.
John Fydenkevez, president of Mater Dolorosa Church Preservation Society of Holyoke, said that the demolition of the church marks “one of the worst days (the group) has ever had,” describing the church as a fixture of the city’s Polish community.
The Mater Dolorosa Church Preservation Society of Holyoke sent a letter to Mitchell Rozanski, bishop of the Diocese of Springfield, in September 2017 proposing that the preservation society buy and repair the church.
“Right up until the last minute we were trying to get the diocese to negotiate with us for the purchase,” Fydenkevez said.
“I think from day one that all that they wanted to do was tear it down,” he added. “Every time I sat to negotiate with them, whatever I offered them was never enough. They always wanted more.”
Mark E. Dupont, a spokesman for the Diocese of Springfield, said the demolition of the church is “heartbreaking,” but necessary due to public safety concerns.
“We think the blame being placed on the diocese is unfair,” he said.
“Public safety is always the number one priority, even if it means losing a beloved church,” Dupont added.
Dupont said the diocese initially hoped to find a buyer for the church, and that the organization had a “lengthy discussion with the city” and spoke with two nonprofit cultural groups. The nonprofits were “unable to come up with estimated funds to acquire the church,” Dupont said, while negotiations with Holyoke did not receive City Council approval.
“At that point in late June we had no other options on the table, now having waited over seven years, so our plan was to move ahead and … find new homes for some of the sacramental objects and the stained glass windows,” Dupont said.
Artwork painted onto the walls, however, was destroyed with the church.
The diocese applied for a building permit on Monday, which was granted on Tuesday, and began with demolition “almost immediately,” according to Dupont. The organization hopes that demolition will be finished within the next few days, Dupont said, and that the site will be clear a few weeks afterward.
Dupont said that the church needed to be demolished due to public safety concerns stemming from the church’s steeple, which he said was “showing serious signs of deterioration” based on analysis by two independent structural engineers, in addition to other concerns.
But some parishioners were quick to point out Wednesday that with the majority of the building destroyed, the steeple still stood.
“The whole reason to tear down the church was that the steeple was unstable and could fall at any time,” Fydenkevez said. “How ironic is it that what was supposedly supporting the steeple is gone, but the steeple is still standing.”
Dupont said that the diocese had to “move ahead quickly” with the demolition due to ongoing deterioration combined with weather concerns, although some parishioners were particularly upset to see the church being demolished two weeks before Christmas and without parishioners being notified that demolition would begin on Tuesday.
Victor M. Anop, an attorney and chairman of Friends of Mater Dolorosa, decried the demolition as destruction of Polish heritage.
“From our experience with the Diocese of Springfield,… these people really don’t care about their parishioners,” Anop said. “They don’t care about ethnic heritage.
“They care nothing about historical identity,” he added. “They don’t care about culture. And they don’t care about architecture and artwork.”
When church services ended in June 2011, Anop and other parishioners participated in a vigil in which someone was in the church at all time for almost a year, Anop said.
Former parishioners can contact Our Lady of the Cross Parish to obtain a brick from the church, Dupont said.
But for the Polish community, Fydenkevez said, the church’s demolition represents more than just the loss of the structure.
“For generations … it wasn’t just a church,” he said. “It was home. So just imagine someone just coming into your home and tearing it down. It’s the same thing.”
Jacquelyn Voghel can be reached at jvoghel@gazettenet.com.