Croatians hope to save aging church from shutting forever
PITTSBURGH (AP) – St. Nicholas has been saved just in time for Christmas. The first Croatian Roman Catholic Church in the United States was closed last week because the aging building had a bad boiler and its congregation had been shrinking for years. But diocese officials and some members of the city’s Croatian community are now talking about making a plan to save the historic building, perhaps even establishing a national shrine.
“For us Croatians, that’s a memorial monument for all of our people,” said Bernard Luketich, president of the Pittsburgh-based Croatian Fraternal Union of America. Luketich estimates there are 200,000 residents of Croatian descent in and around Pittsburgh, but he said no one place keeps an accurate count so the number could actually be much higher.
On Dec. 7, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh announced it was closing the church completely – a decision made at the request of the parish – and would try to sell the brown brick, domed building. Four days later, the diocese said instead that it would form a committee to decide what to do with the building.
“It is a great task that lies before us. We’re not looking just to Croatians in Pittsburgh, but throughout the country,” said the Rev. Ronald Lengwin, a diocesan spokesman.
Founded by Croatian immigrants, the church was first established in a remodeled house in the city’s North Side in 1894. Five years later, a new church was built in Millvale. But after objections from some parishioners over losing the North Side location, the current St. Nicholas was built there.
The two churches operated separately until 1994 when they were merged as part of a parish reorganization.
St. Nicholas’ namesake was a fourth century bishop who was said to have given away his wealth to those in need. Legend has it that St. Nicholas threw coins and gifts through open windows or chimneys, the inspiration for today’s version of Santa Claus.
The congregation at both churches has been on the decline.
More than 900 people attended services at the two churches in 1994; now only about 400 people worship at the Millvale location.
The North Side church was closed Nov. 17 after a boiler inspection found leaking water and unsafe levels of carbon monoxide. Fixing the building could cost as much as $1.1 million, something the parish can’t afford, church officials have said.
The diocese advanced the parish $50,000 to maintain the building until the committee, set to meet early next year, can come up with a plan.
“Whatever the committee proposes to do with the building, a way has to be found, very soon if possible, to secure the financial resources necessary to maintain the former church building and lift that responsibility from the parish, which clearly cannot afford the building,” Lengwin said when the closing was announced.
Whatever happens, the diocese has said the building will not be used as a parish church again.
Luketich said he likes the idea of the building becoming a shrine.
“That could be a national shrine to St. Nicholas. We could ask all of our people to support it,” he said.
This is the second time the church has survived plans to close it. In 2000, the church was supposed to be sold to state transportation officials who were widening nearby Route 28. Eventually, though, the state decided to build around the church once the building’s historic status became an issue.
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On the Net:
St. Nicholas Church http://users.telerama.com/(tilde)emq/