St. Anne's, Waterford, to close

Parishioners at St. Anne's Church in Waterford were informed last weekend that, due to several factors, the Albany Diocese is forced to close the parish.

The closure was triggered by the decision of the Augustinian order to reassign St. Anne's pastor, Rev. Daniel Menihane, to a nearby parish, St. Mary's. He will serve there as associate pastor. The Augustinians staff both parishes.

While the Diocese knew that Father Menihane was on temporary assignment at St. Anne's, the announcement of his reassignment was not anticipated. The order is experiencing the same shortage of personnel as the Diocese.

In a letter to parishioners, Bishop Howard J. Hubbard detailed the process conducted by the St. Anne's pastoral council and diocesan staff to review parish statistics and other data in an effort to determine what course of action to take.

After consulting the pastoral council at St. Anne's; various diocesan offices, including Priests' Placement, Pastoral Planning and Finance; and the diocesan Presbyteral [Priests'] Council, Bishop Hubbard concluded that there were sufficient reasons to close the parish. The decision, he said, came after "considerable thought and prayer."

"As you are aware," he told the parishioners in his letter, "the Diocese is preparing for the next round of pastoral planning, when we will focus on our cities and address the many challenges they present to us. Right now, we are facing many challenges in staffing our parishes and can no longer continue 'business as usual.'"

The Bishop added, "While there is great sadness in this decision, we must never neglect to give thanks to God for the 116 years of faith celebrated in this parish community.

Bishop Hubbard also expressed "my gratitude to Farther Menihane for his excellent service during these past five years. I also want to express my heartfelt thanks to you, the people of St. Anne's, for the marvelous heritage you have given the Diocese over the years."

Parishioners were urged to join one of the seven other churches in the area, located within a few minutes of St. Anne's.

The final Mass at St. Anne's will be celebrated on June 29.

(4/10/03) [[In-content Ad]]