Last mass a bittersweet Easter service at St. William
By DAWN ANDERSON
A bittersweet feeling filled the air on Easter Sunday as hundreds gathered for the final Mass at St. William Church in Norwood.
“I was not even going to go, figured it would be sad, but I’m glad I decided to go,” said James Alldredge, owner of United Sheet Metal in Warwick. “I’m going to miss it.”
He and his wife Maria have been attending the church for 23 years, and their son Kalum was baptized there as an infant. Now a senior at Pilgrim, he speaks of his thoughts upon hearing of the closing of the church, “It was definitely kind of hard to go through because I’ve been coming since I was born,” he says. “I was an altar server for nine years.” He also attended CCD and his mother, Maria, was a teacher there.
When the closing was announced, her emotions surfaced. “I cried for almost 10 minutes straight, and for the last three weeks I cried,” she said. “You can pray anywhere and worship anywhere, but it’s our community we’ll miss the most. Everybody came to say goodbye.”
One of those that came was former Director of Religious Education Sue Levesque. She left the church for a job in another city and attended the Mass to reconnect and say goodbye to many of the people she had served over the years.
“Working here 22 years, I was the longest-serving staff person. I didn’t look at working here as a job, but a ministry,” she says. “It’s a nice small-knit community, like family to me.”
Also in attendance was former mayoral candidate Richard Corrente. Although not a parishioner, he wanted to be there for the final service of the long-standing church. While he said it’s sad to see the closing, he feels like even though the church won’t be there the Lord will be.
Tom Isacco was one of those who was at the first mass in the current church and at the last mass. Two of the long-time members to be uprooted, Bill and Jean Lopes, have been attending since 1986.
“I’ll miss it. We live up the street, it’s kind of easy to get here,” Bill says.
Auxiliary Bishop Robert Evans added a moment of levity. Speaking of his earlier days at St. Philip Church in Greenville, it was mentioned by someone that he was a young priest, which was followed by another comment of “He has more ears than brains.”
After the laughter settled, he spoke of the “sense of sadness” members were feeling and also of how special their congregation is.
“This church is a little gem for our Lord,” he said. “There’s no better wish I could ask than that you make yourself temples so God could dwell within. Church is more than a building or territory, and as sad as this occasion may be, nothing can take away the spirit of God.”
Bishop Evans was the principal celebrant. Fr. John Lavin and Fr. Raymond Luft, former pastors of St. William, were con-celebrants.
The sense of community amongst the parishioners was evident as they hugged and said goodbye, some for the final time. Many spoke of the sense of belonging, a feeling of family, and possibly never again seeing people they’ve known for years. Many will head to St. Timothy and some to St. Kevin, while others, like the Alldredges, haven’t found their new church home yet. A sentiment shared amongst some of the congregants was the importance of regular church attendance, and if St. William had that, the church may have been able to stay open. As attendance dropped and bills mounted, the Diocese decided to close the parish, which had served Warwick for more than 80 years.
