Tears, Sadness Mark Closure of St. Elizabeth

For nearly 90 years, was alive with countless Masses, baptisms, weddings and even a few pet blessings.

On Saturday afternoon, the pews were packed yet again.

But this time, people were there to say goodbye, as the small, neighborhood church, which opened in 1924, officially closed its doors. Teary-eyed parishioners filed out after the last Mass.

“I’m so sad, it makes me cry,” said 92-year-old Regina Hartman, who attended the church since 1959. “I don’t want to see it being closed. I loved it here. They were all good to me. They treated us just fantastic.”

In accordance with a , the church has now merged all assets with . A second phase of the plan calls for St. Joseph to combine with by June 30, 2013.  All three churches had been operating under a cluster arrangement for the past two years, headed by the Rev. Michael Cremin.

The final service at St. Elizabeth at 4 p.m. Saturday, dubbed a “Mass of Unity” by the archdiocese, was presided over by Bishop Francis Reiss, as well as Cremin and the Revs. Linus Kinyua, Gary Morelli and Joseph Ramano.

Throughout metropolitan Detroit, three other Masses of Unity were scheduled for Saturday at parishes undergoing similar mergers.

Church officials have said the need to close and combine parishes has resulted from a drop in church membership, a shortage of men in the priesthood and economic troubles.

Following Saturday’s mass, Reiss officially declared St. Elizabeth closed with a short prayer after the statue of St. Elizabeth of Hungary was removed. The statue was then taken by motorcade to its new home at St. Joseph, where a short service was held in honor of the two parishes joining together.

Aside from the statue being removed Saturday, items such as the altar cloth, crucifix and church oils were taken out, as well.

Those parish belongings, along with the altar itself, will be used in a chapel inside the former building, Cremin said.

The school, which , now will be known as St. Elizabeth Education Center. In addition to the chapel, it will provide adult classes in an array of areas, including art, computers and exercise. A date for center's opening has not yet been set, Cremin said.

As St. Elizabeth church members must now decide where to worship, Cremin said, he hopes many of the 75 to 100 families come to St. Joseph or St. Patrick. However, he recognizes that combining churches can sometimes leave hard feelings among some people.

“Merging parishes is always a challenge,” Cremin said. “Some people get so hurt they may not go anywhere else for awhile.”

Although the closure will be tough on some, those who do move on to St. Joseph should see plenty of familiar and welcoming faces, said Karen Tavernier, who was a St. Elizabeth parishioner for 30 years.

“It’s a sad thing to close a parish after so many years,” Tavernier said. “(However,) lots of the people at St. Joe’s were parishioners at St. Elizabeth, so they’re coming to another family.”

Some Wyandotte Patch readers said they have many joyous memories of St. Elizabeth.

"I went to St. Elizabeth when I was growing up 40 years ago and did my first communion there, as well," said. "I have fond memories of what the church did for me growing up. Sad to see it go and another empty building in the neighborhood."

used to live in Wyandotte, but has since moved away. The church, however, still has a place in her heart.

"St. Elizabeth was the only church I attended for the first 18 years of my life," she said. "I was baptized, made my first communion, was confirmed and was married by Father Fortuna in that church. I now live 700 miles away, but wish I could have attended the vigil tonight. I also remember Father McCabe and Father Romano very well. It saddens me to hear of its closing."

Do you have a favorite memory from St. Elizabeth? If so, share it with us in the comments below.

READ OUR PREVIOUS STORIES: