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Church’s final Mass to be held

By Christine Haines 2 min read

BROWNSVILLE – The last Mass in the 99-year history of St. Mary of the Assumption Parish will be held this evening, though the service will not actually take place inside the church. “We can’t use the church at this point,” said the Rev. Vincent J. Gigliotti, administrator of St. Mary and pastor of the Historic Church of St. Peter, both located on Church Street in Brownsville.

The church, former school and surrounding buildings have experienced structural problems since 2002, with the Catholic Diocese of Greensburg’s Office of Engineering and Facilities Management saying the problems are related to shifting soil and rock under the foundation, causing cracks in the building.

Bricks from the old school fell through the roof of the kitchen at the church. The church has not been used since Aug. 13, 2004, because of the structural damage.

The diocese announced a month ago that St. Mary’s parish was being suppressed, effective June 10.

“My initial plan was to have (the final Mass) on August 15, which is the feast of the parish, the Assumption of Mary, but the bishop will be out of the country at that time and he wanted to be here. He’ll be at World Youth Day in Germany,” Gigliotti said.

The Mass will be observed at 7 p.m. under a tent set up in the church parking lot, weather permitting, Gigliotti said.

“There will be a small reception following the Mass, with cookies and punch. It is being hosted by the members of the Historic Church of St. Peter,” Gigliotti said.

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