One year ago, I shared with you what can be best described as a “towering challenge” for the good and faithful people of Holy Family Parish. As you know, when I became your pastor two summers ago, there was much talk about a proposal to make Saint Ann Church more accessible by installing an elevator and to renovate the parish hall, kitchen, and bathrooms. At the time, the estimated cost of just the elevator (excluding the other projects) was almost one million dollars. And although many thousands of dollars had already been spent on engineering consultants and architectural plans, a thorough inspection of the structural integrity of the church had not been conducted.

So, with the support of our finance council, I requested a professional and thorough inspection of Saint Ann Church. The results were both disturbing and disheartening. Over the years, the virtue of deferred maintenance has become the vice of neglect. The ceiling over the spot where the new elevator would have opened into the church is cracked and crumbling. Archways and ceilings in the choir loft and tower have collapsed to the point where all public access to these portions of the church is now prohibited. The anchors, frames, pins, and sills that support both the large and small rose windows are in such bad shape that they need to be rebuilt. And the buttresses on the front of the church have deteriorated to the point that they are separating from the building and threatening its long-term structural stability.

Many of the church’s problems are caused by masonry leaks in the bell tower that allow water to travel from the steeple, through the tower, and then into the spaces between the exterior stonework and interior plaster. These leaks are causing the tower, the east wall, and the interior (especially in the vestibule and choir loft) to deteriorate at an accelerated pace, causing noticeable damage to the front doors, ceilings, walls, and woodwork of the church. These problems are worsened by severe winters that cause water to freeze, expand, melt, and contract. Overall, we have reached the point where major portions of our beautiful and historic church must be restored (not just repaired) for both safety and structural reasons. This is no longer about maintaining our church; this is about restoring it and saving it. In short, this potentially ruinous situation is urgent and must be addressed now.

During the past year, Saint Ann Church has been poked, prodded, checked and double-checked by local and regional experts to ensure that we have found any and all problems that might affect its long-term structural stability. Competitive bids to complete the restoration work were submitted by four respected contractors. After studying these bids and consulting with our finance council, parish council, pastoral team, representatives from all of our parish ministries, and archdiocesan officials, we have decided to engage the services of Aniceto Historical Restorations, Incorporated of Milford, Massachusetts, a construction firm with a strong reputation for completing similar projects in the Archdiocese of Boston, to complete this project before the end of this calendar year. The overall cost of this necessary project will be approximately one million dollars.

At this point, the success of the Saint Ann Church Restoration Project depends solely on your support. In order to save our church for future generations of faithful and faith-filled parishioners, we must rededicate all of the donations for the so-called elevator project; and we must begin a vigorous campaign for additional donations. Since calling attention to this problem last year, I have spoken with countless parishioners before and after Mass, at parish events, and in private one-on-one conversations about the challenges facing Saint Ann Church and Holy Family Parish. Some parishioners have asked for their money back. But most parishioners have strongly urged us to forge ahead with plans to restore Saint Ann Church before it’s too late. Needless to say, we cannot meet this towering challenge without your encouragement, enthusiasm, prayers, and support. As always, if you have comments, questions, or a few dollars to spare for this good and worthy cause, please do not hesitate to contact me.

More than 800 years ago, a young man named Francis walked into a dilapidated little church and knelt in prayer before an ancient crucifix. He prayed: “Most High and Glorious God, enlighten the darkness of my heart. Give me right faith, certain hope, and perfect charity. O Lord, give me insight and wisdom, so that I might always discern your holy and true will. Amen.” Upon completing this prayer, the Crucified Christ spoke: “Francis, go and rebuild my church!” That young man would become Saint Francis of Assisi. Many centuries later, we are faced with a similar prayer and a similar challenge. Let us pray for faith, hope, and love. Let us pray for guidance and wisdom. Let us pray for courage and perseverance to confront our towering challenge. And let us pray for the grace and strength to live the Gospel, to share God’s love, and to rebuild our beautiful church! Amen! Saint Ann, pray for us! Saint Joachim, pray for us! Saint Anthony, pray for us! Saint Francis, pray for us! Saint Peter, pray for us! Our Lady of Good Voyage, pray for us! May the Sacred of Heart of Jesus have mercy on us!

Peace and blessings to all,
Father Jim

Reverend James M. Achadinha, Pastor
Catholic Community of Gloucester & Rockport
Contact: frjim@ccgronline.com

CCGR Weekly Newsletter (7-31-16)
Bringing Home the Word (7-31-16)

Pastor’s Note: On behalf of the Catholic Community of Gloucester & Rockport, Father Jim wishes to thank our dear friend, Jody Cole of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, for graciously allowing us to use her beautiful icon of Saint Ann on our website and on the cover of our weekly newsletter. Jody is a very talented iconographer and her work can be seen on her website (see link below). Thanks, Jody!

Learn More: Jody Cole Icons

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