By Rick Pusiak
After almost 70 years of masses, weddings, funerals and community gatherings, St. Clement is no more.
 |
The building at 328 Albert St. still stands but it is no longer a Roman Catholic church. Last SundayÂ?s 11 am mass marked the final religious ceremony at the West End religious landmark.
St. Clement was closed because of a dwindling number of priests and a shrinking congregation.
The faithful will be merged with the flock at the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church site where a new parish, Our Lady of Hope, is set to officially be created this Sunday, Oct. 6.
Â?IÂ?ll be brief and then IÂ?ll be gone,Â? said Rev. John Caswell as he started his homily mid-way through the final mass.
Â?Our record books show that countless people have received the sacraments of their faith within these hallowed walls...Countless others have worshiped here with liturgies, prayed with devotion and sought refuge from the ever changing and passing world.Â?
Caswell then pointed to a banner hanging from the choir loft balcony. It featured a hand drawn picture of the church with a slogan underneath that read Â?thanks for the memories.Â?
The pastor said the words were borrowed from the signature song made famous by comedian Bob Hope.
Â?Today there are too many memories to really recount. Whether it applies to the priests who have served, to the women religious who have taught in the schools and helped here at the parish, to each of the lay people who have called (St. Clement) their parish church and have graced it with the presence.Â?
Caswell told the congregation he remembers coming to St. Clement as a young child in the 1940s. The pastor has been assigned to the church the past 14 years.
He described the period as a very special time in his life and in his priesthood.
Caswell concluded by referring to one of the scripture readings in the final mass.
The passage dealt with a message from St. Paul to the early church where the Apostle encouraged the faithful to pick up the message of Christ and bear it wherever they went and in whatever they did.
Â?And to do it, not from selfish ambition or conceit but in humility. Regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests but to the interests of others.Â?
Caswell said he hopes the new parish will be the source of spiritual strength, consolation, and help.
Â?However, may our remembrance of all the good that has been accomplished here at St. Clement, at this sacred place, help us to be healed of this time of pain and loss,Â? said the priest.
Following communion, the congregation was invited up to the front of the church to kiss or touch the altar.
Many in the packed church wiped away tears as they prepared to leave. The flock was told that the doors would be locked after the last parishioner left.
Caswell led the final procession out of the church and carried the eucharist to a waiting vehicle. From there the faithful made a solemn procession to the Our Lady site, the boat shaped church atop the Brennan Street Hill.
The church was named in the 1930s after Clement I who according to tradition was ordained by St. Peter himself.
Some early theologians thought Clement was PeterÂ?s immediate successor but modern scholars agree that he was the fourth pope. Details of his death are sketchy but itÂ?s believed the Roman was martyred at some place away from Rome. The feast of St. Clement is celebrated Nov. 23.
