Tag Archives: Save our Lady of Mount Carmel church

AN ITALIAN DINNER SHOW at Mechanics Hall!

May 5, 2017 admin

Please attend this elegant evening of great music, food and friendship – while helping to support the work of the Mount Carmel Preservation Society!

“AN ITALIAN DINNER SHOW” Featuring Marco Turo, Lori Z (Sounds of Streisand) and Joe Cariglia

MECHANICS HALL

321 Main St., Worcester

Saturday, June 17

6 PM (Cocktails/ Meet & Greet)

7 PM -11 PM Dinner & Entertainment

Portion of proceeds to: Mount Carmel Preservation Society 

For tickets: please contact
Nancy Iagallo at nancei888@msn.com

Thank you!
Mauro

InCity Voices

A church Sunday bulletin does not give room for rebuttal, does it?

May 5, 2017 admin

Our Lady of Mount Carmel church

By Mauro DePasquale

What we as parishioners and members of the Mount Carmel Preservation Society see as the heart of the matter:

Mount Carmel Preservation Society (MPS) stated it will come up with the $120,000 (the cost the City Building Commissioner had originally said it would take to make Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church safe) to help alleviate the burden of cost upon the Diocese (the real owners of the building).

We said we would be happy to turn over the money raised to the Monsignor after the Monsignor opened the doors for Masses.

The Monsignor accepted that, and at a meeting with the MPS board said he would hope to have it by June 2017.

We proceeded and raised enough funds in pledges and cash and placed it on hold until the Monsignor opened the doors to our church.

We also, at that point, suggested and requested that Masses be conducted, temporarily, in the Recreation Center until the Church was made safe.

The Monsignor rejected that suggestion.

We had the Church positioned for the National Historic Register, which would make the building available for grants and tax credits that could save up to 40% of repair cost.

He rejected that option.

We offered a sustainability plan he was not interested in reviewing.

He then turned around and said the interior of our church needs to also be “proven” safe by a certified engineer. He then asked that the MPS pay for the engineer.

When we had an engineer ready to schedule an entry, the Monsignor sent us to the Diocese facility manager to set up an appointment to enter the building. The facility manager, about a month later, told us we had to ask the Monsignor to let us in.

When we apprised the Monsignor of this, the Monsignor refused to allow our Engineer enter the church and said there will be “no further discussion.”

Every effort the MPS made to reach out to the rest of the parish community the Monsignor censored, blocked, criticized or simply rejected, as if it were a personal attack, which of course it never was.

We are parishioners who simply want to save our beloved Church rather than walk away from it. To us it is a meaningful and Holy sacred place, an anchor to our families, our heritage and our identity as Italian American Catholics and Worcesterites. We simply haven’t given up on our Church like so many Catholics have after the pedophile cases came to light.

Shouldn’t the Church be working to save all that is holy and to save its flock, rather than risk loosing it?

This Sunday’s May 7 Church Bulletin we find the Monsignor spinning his own story, again painting an incorrect perspective about his own parishioners who are members of MPS, pitting our parish against itself.

The Church needs repair. Perhaps it can be doable over the years. We have a sustainability plan that proved it possible. Furthermore, it may also be possible to have Masses at the Church in a short time while a section of the church is under repair. We could also, if need be, have Masses on campus at the Recreation Center while major work is conducted.

Our engineer could have given us a definite answer to that question – IF THE MONSIGNOR WOULD HAVE LET HIM IN THE CHURCH TO INSPECT IT. But he didn’t.

The Pastor and the Diocese continually blame a declining congregation population. We have not seen scientific proof of declining numbers. I remember a time when the count conducted at Mount Carmel consisted of someone standing in the choir loft finger counting heads before Mass. That same person then sang in the choir during Mass.

So what about those in the church who were seated in the ten or so pews below the Choir loft – the people who couldn’t be seen from the choir loft? What about those who came late to Mass, while the choir member was engaged in music ministry? Where’s the real evidence? Where is the real transparency?

Is it really necessary to close the church?

Is it really necessary to merge our parish with another parish that is in deep debt to the Diocese for reasons we are not really fully aware of?

Real transparency would answer those questions, but no one knows the answer to them because there is a lack of transparency. Parishioners have paid to build and sustain the church over the years, a church we do not own, and yet, in this latest church bulletin, the Monsignor spins his story in such a way as to blame parishioners for the neglect of the owners, THE DIOCESE. He opines the fact that the owners had to put money into their own building, even though he knows, if he opens the church for Masses, MPS would come up with that money.

Wow! Can you imagine if all building owners could get their tenants to make a loan, from the owner, to pay to repair that owner’s building?

We also found many model plans for the Church to be preserved as a living shrine, which can have limited masses and serve a community of faith. This was also rejected without discussion.

Talk about transparency!

Can the Monsignor tell us why Our Lady of Loretto church is in such deep debt?

Can he tell us if the Diocese is really loosing parishioners left and right? Why is it so and where are they going? Can he tell us what he is doing to convert or retain parishioners? He doesn’t seem to care about the thousands of Catholics and Christians and others that agree with and support our mission. Can he tell us where ALL the money parishioners donate (including all weekly baskets, legacy giving, and other donations) is really going to pay for?

Can he tell us why he is betraying his flock and the Word of Christ by chastising our members and calling our efforts foolish? Can he tell us where we can find the “Holiness” in all of this?

*****
Here is a link to the church bulletin:
https://content.parishesonline.com/bulletins/04/0513/20170507B.pdf

A Must Read – One reason Why Loretto and the Diocese May be in Debt:
https://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/parishioners-look-to-save-church

MPS BOARD WORKING MEETING Monday, 5:30 p.m. Please contact Mauro for details.

Thank you and God Bless,

Mauro DePasquale, Mount Carmel Preservation Society

Animal Issues

Let us pray …

May 2, 2017 admin

The much loved Our Lady of Mount Carmel church is slated for demolition this month. pics: R.T.

From MPS head Mauro DePasquale:

Why the apparent need to close or merge so many Catholic Churches? It has been reported that perhaps billions of dollars are needed to address legal settlements for pedophile cases. However, there are also stories like the following. Could this be, in part, why there may be pressure to close and merge churches?

Why merge Our Lady of Mount Carmel with a Parish that has over $600,000 in debt?
Read:

https://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/parishioners-look-to-save-church

An EXAMPLE of MISMANAGEMENT…

January 11 posted:

OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL CHURCH, WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, USA, WAS UNJUSTLY CLOSED BY THE CHURCH LEADERSHIP ON MAY 1ST, 2016

The church was neglected by the Diocese of Worcester who had a fiduciary responsibility to assure its maintenance, knowing that viable solutions to repair and sustain it are available and at hand.

It is scheduled for demolition in May, 2017.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church is a community anchor, an iconic, irreplaceable, historically significant cultural center, as well as a centerpiece for Worcester’s large Italian American population.

It was also awarded the distinction as one of the top seven historic resources in Massachusetts.

The Mount Carmel Preservation Society is working diligently to save Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church. It is unjust to see this historical treasure demolished unnecessarily.

*******

Do you read the same old arrogance from opposition or the misinformation that is reported without any real investigative reporting?

Although Mount Carmel is a significant architectural and irreplaceable sacred space, and also one of the top 7 most endangered historical resources in Massachusetts, parishioners are fighting for justice. If love of a building were the simple case, why have any church buildings at all here or at the Vatican?

VIDEO

http://www.preserveourladyofmountcarmel.org

MPS BOARD WORKING MEETING TBA asap.

Thank you and God Bless.

photo submitted by Mauro DePasquale

Animal Issues

Mount Carmel Preservation Society will be meeting on MONDAY, February 6 – 6:30 p.m.

February 4, 2017 admin

pic: R.T.

editor’s note: From Mauro DePasquale. I’ve made some sentences bold:

… at WCCA TV, 415 Main Street. Near City Hall.

Please make every effort to attend.

Thank you!

Many of you may have received letters from the Bishop and Monsignor Pedone in the last two days or so.

The work of our society is NOT OVER!

We will continue to stand tall with courage and move forward with our mission with stronger determination.

MPS has filed a Canonical Appeal to address the Bishop’s decree announcing a parish merger. He will have a limited time to respond.

Remember, shortly after the Monsignor locked the doors and first filed for a permit to demolish [Our Lady of Mount Carmel] Church we began our mission to Fix the Church and Save the Parish on Mulberry Street.

Since then, the Monsignor stated numerous times in public and in private meetings that if we raised the funds to alleviate the burden of cost of the “Make Safe” work, as ordered by the City Building commissioner, and have a sustainability plan and engineers signed off on the work, he will re-open the Church for masses. We responded that when this work is completed and after doors are opened for mass, we will then collect our pledges.

Well, it looks like the “Make Safe” work is done or very very close to being completed. So will the doors be opened? We expect to hear from the City of Worcester inspectors if the church is safe to occupy or not.

Coincidentally, the decree merged the parish as of Feb. 1, and it was announced that activities and materials will be moved to [Our Lady of] Loretto church and another Our Lady of Providence on Lincoln Street. Just in time when the work may be completed. So . . . . ! Does it sound like doors will be opened?

The letters you received may seem to illustrate a complete disregard for the work and efforts of all you toward fixing our church and saving our parish. However, we continue to seek clarification and a possible willingness, on the Diocese part, to explore a way to save the church as a sacred space.

We made numerous calls to the City planning department asking if the City Inspector has signed off. We expect to hear from them soon.

Although Mount Carmel is on of the top 7 most endangered historic resources in Massachusetts, our petition for a Historic District Feasibility study was stunningly turned down by members of the Historic Commission. We were told an appeal, if unlikely voted in an affirmative, may be possible but it may also be a lengthy process, if it passes. Not in time for the May wrecking ball.

There still are options. We will discuss them on Monday.

To save this important historical treasure as our sacred worship place, we must continue to pray the Monsignor and/or the Bishop come to understand what is truly in the best interest of our parish, the faithful, and perhaps the Diocese. The right and just decision for the Diocese, we believe, is to consider fixing the church and bringing the entire parish back to Mulburry Street.

Many have asked me: “If the church is fixed, why not let us all have another chance at sustaining it?”

I asked the Diocese if the work ordered by the City to fix the church is completed. Vicor Reidy returned my call today. The following simply outlines the points he made in our discussion which he believes are true at this time:

Regarding Receipt of our appeal:

1. The Bishop did receive our appeal. No comment was offered.

Regarding the “Make Safe work as ordered by the City:

2.Banding on the Church tower is completed

3.Tie back work is completed

4. Diocese engineers have inspected the work. He did not elaborate on that. They may have signed off on it. We are not certain, however.

5. Through bolts and plates were being added to prevent the veneer on the facade from falling off.

6. There is more exploratory work that may be going on to see what other urgent work that may need addressing. He did not elaborate.

7.Some of the netting was tucked in. This may indicate that the facade work is completed.

8. He said it is “Virtually done, if not totally.”

9. He then stressed it was a temporary fix, “not permanent.”

NEXT STEPS:

1. We will discuss on Monday night.

2. Monsignor Pedone is putting together a committee to determine next steps for the property. We have asked to participate in that committee. We have received no response as of this writing.

2. The Vicor added that the Diocese is not driving this – under canon law, the Paster makes the decisions relative to these matters.

We hope to hear from our Canon advisor before articulating and determining our MPS next steps. We have sent in the appeal. The Bishop has it and is obligated to respond.

See you Monday (Feb 6), if not Sunday at the vigil.

Your ideas, editorials, donations are welcomed!

Thank you,

Mauro
http://www.preserveourladyofmountcarmel.org

Animal Issues

A heartfelt thank you and what’s next for Our Lady of Mount Carmel church😇😇😇

January 12, 2017 admin

By Mauro DePasquale, president, Mount Carmel Preservation Society

editor’s note: I’ve made some sentences bold. -R.T.

Thank God! Never underestimate faith and power of prayer!

[Tuesday] night the [Worcester] City Council voted 9-2 to move our petition for a Mount Carmel Historic District forward.

This is a noteworthy event that requires us all to remain vigilant toward preserving and reopening our church on Mulberry Street.

We look forward to continuing discussions with the Diocese, as we hope to work together toward a solution to re-open and maintain the Church on Mulberry Street.

Thank you to the nine [City] Council members (Mayor Joseph Petty, Candy Carlson, George Russel, Kate Toomey, Morris Bergman, Gary Rosen, Konstantia Lukes, Sarai Rivera, Khrystian King) for voting in support of providing time for hope and serious discussion to transpire.Their vote signifies the justice of our mission and the time and due diligence all stake holders and the historic resource deserves.

Thank you to all the amazing speakers who spoke, from the heart, passionately, in favor of moving our petition forward, and thank you to all who came to [Tuesday] night’s meeting in support of MPS [the Mount Carmel Preservation Society].

We need to think out of the box, but a solution to sustainability and continued repairs is possible. Now we will have a chance to properly present our ideas. The road ahead may not be easy, but neither was it for those who sacrificed to build it.

See you at the next Historic Commission Meeting. We will inform you of date, time and location details soon.

*******

Scroll down for further information:

Mount Carmel Preservation Society Statement – January 10, 2017

Immediate Release

In December 2016 the Mount Carmel Preservation Society (MPS) had delayed its petition for a historical district for Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

This was done in good faith, in exchange for the Bishop’s offer that, if we tabled our petition, he will not take action to demolish the Church until January 2018 and will also work with the MPS, the WBDC and the Chamber of Commerce, to explore and seek a solution to save the church.

MPS met with the Bishop on December 30, 2016 and took what had transpired under advisement with our Membership. We later responded, with membership consensus, with a letter sent on January 3, 2017, to the Diocesan leadership, asking the Diocese to consider addressing concerns that we felt needed to first be agreed to in order to set a proper foundation for future discussions.

Whereas the Diocese response did not address our specific concerns by January 9, as per our request, and whereas the permit for demolition formally continues to stand for May 2017, and the window to preserve the Church is closing in on the time required to properly process a Historic District application, we must move forward with our petition.

Our request asking the Council to move our petition forward to the historic commission, reflects our desire to give the Historic Commission, and all the stake holders, the fair amount of time and due diligence, Mount Carmel, as one of the top ten most endangered historical resources in Massachusetts, deserves.

It is our understanding, as recently reaffirmed in a recent response to an appeal from the Vatican, that the Church is safe from the wrecking ball until the Bishop first issues a decree to relegate it to profane but not sordid use, which may be appealed through a process set forth through Canon Law.

With consideration to the above, it is the consensus MPS membership to move forward with their petition for a Mount Carmel Historic District, before the City Council this Tuesday (1/10/17).

The Mount Carmel Preservation Society does not wish to risk the church to the wrecking ball as scheduled in May 2017. We are seeking the Diocese to be willing to accept the following in order for us to consider further delaying our petition for a historic district:

We have asked this of the Diocese in a letter sent on January 4, 2017 with a request to respond to us by January 9, 2017:

The Diocese to be willing to issue a written promise to revoke the permit to demolish scheduled for May 2017 or promise to delay any action to demolish the Church until January 2019. To allow time for discussions and implementation of a process to develop a master plan that includes a funding solution to repair and re-open the Church;

The Diocese to be willing to have Masses celebrated in the Recreation Center until the church is made safe to reopen;

The Diocese to be willing to re-open the church for masses as soon as the City [of Worcester] Inspector deems it safe to enter;

Church leadership to be willing to collaborate with the Mount Carmel Preservation Society, with the MPS having a voting role, in the care, manage and maintain the Church as sacred center for Worcester’s Italian American Community and for all Catholics to celebrate our faith;

The Diocese to consider having our Parish, in collaboration with the Mount Carmel Preservation Society, develop the property to best use land and structures to benefit Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish.

In the event that the Parish is not to facilitate development of the property on its own, Mount Carmel Preservation Society will have a voting seat at the table during the design process, and formulation of the Master plan to assure the building will continue to exist as a functioning sacred space, and as a religious and cultural center for the Italian American people of Worcester. and decisions concerning the eventual buyer.

The Historic District study can take more than 60 days (up to a year in some cases as we were informed) and whereas time is of the essence, the Diocese response to our request in the positive to the above must be sooner rather than later. Therefor without the response to what we are seeking prior to the Council meeting on January 10, we (MPS) feel it is in the best interest of our mission to move forward with the Historic District petition. We expect to continue discussions with Bishop and the Diocese in hopes to find an agreeable solution toward saving and reopening our Church as the petition moves forward through the process.

Regretfully, the Bishop has informed the MPS that our request of maintaining the Our Lady of Mount Carmel/St. Ann Parish, as a single parish, on Mulberry Street is denied and non-negotiable. If there is to be no parish, further delay of the petition will only be pursuant to MPS receiving a written assurance that the six items, as stated above, can be agreed to by the Diocese and that Mount Carmel is to continue to exist as a sacred space, with broad base access and support.

It has been a part of our goal all along to fix the Church and reopen it for masses and to save our parish on Mulberry Street. We look forward to healing our parish family and to save its local history as well as its sacred Italian American cultural center for all to celebrate.

We feel at this time it is in the best interest of our mission to move forward with our petition as we pursue open discussions to explore solutions to preserve and reopen our Church.

Thank you.

maurodep1@gmail.com

Cc
Historic Commission, Bishop McManus, Monsignor Pedone, MPS Board of Directors

InCity Voices, Rosalie's Blog

YES!!!!! Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church …

January 10, 2017 admin

… SAVED BY WORCESTER CITY COUNCIL!!!

Yes votes: Bergman, King, Lukes, Carlson, Rivera, Rosen, Russell, Toomey, Petty

No votes (both money guys): Economou, Gaffney

Mayor Joseph Petty at tonight’s city council meeting: “[I] look at this as more than just a church. [It’s] important to Italians, [it] represents history.”

YES!!!!

So much of present-day Worcester is seduced by the doe-eyed gentrifiers, glib developers, charming money-talkers – people whose lives revolve around CASH and PROFIT, what’s on trend, relentless social media marketing, the latest chi chi restaurant (gluttony=fat-assed people), Snapchat and – Poof! You’re gone! Disappeared!

So unlike the REAL SOUL stuff – the bread of life that nurtures you – the REAL you … your church, life-long friends, family, your neighborhood, animals, the sky. The stuff that has nothing to do with money but everything to do with happiness!

Here’s to Our Lady of Mount Carmel – a grand church!

Hooray for her neighborhood rec center that gives back to the community – at low or no cost!

Three cheers for her great inner-city little league baseball field that lets city kids slide into HOME …

“Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, that you do unto me!”
– Jesus Christ

Coincidental?

Today, looking at the Catholic church outside my kitchen window, just as I was about to cut my tomato vine down cuz it looked old and I thought I might put something new and hot there in its place …

pics: R.T.

… I saw a beautiful tomato! Red and perfect. Pressed against the window sill in red-rosy loveliness …

I had not noticed it!

Then I saw another tomato … small – Jaw Breaker gumball-sized small and (truth be told) a bit crinkly. Still cute.

… In spite of the cold, my indifference, Cece’s morning walks though the flora, they grew…

And this too! My African violet uncurling her purple, little petal hands …

Kudos to Mauro, Candy and the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Preservation Society!

Worcester wins!

– Rosalie Tirella

Green Island Grrrl, Rosalie's Blog

Can the bishop and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Preservation Society MAKE PEACE? … “Historic” meeting tomorrow night! Jan. 2!

January 1, 2017 admin

Jesus hated money 💰and loved homeless 🔑people😇! pic: R.T

By Rosalie Tirella

A few days ago I left Mauro DePasquale a voicemail re: his efforts to save his church, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, and to stave off gentrification of the Shrewsbury Street corner on which his beloved church sits.

CUT A DEAL WITH THE BISHOP! I cried into my cell phone. THESE GUYS ARE BRUTAL AND WANT THAT VALUABLE LAND. THEY WILL SELL IT – AND MT. CARMEL – DOWN THE RIVER FOR THE MONEY. THE CATHOLIC CHURCH CAN BE ARROGANT, RIGID … BRUTAL. CUT A DEAL. HAVE THEM TAKE SOME OF THE LAND TO SELL TO THE GENTRIFIERS, AND WITH SOME OF THE MILLIONS THEY MAKE HAVE THEM BUILD YOU A NEW, SMALLER, ENERGY-EFFICIENT CHURCH. And you get to KEEP your rec center.

I sounded urgent because I’ve come to know, often from first-hand experience, how slippery, rigid and vain the Catholic church is and how slippery, rigid and vain Worcester politics is, a kind of Catholic church in its own dogmatic, cliquey right. I’ve watched how the game is played here in Worcester, and I believe Mt. Carmel is about to be flushed down the crapper by the Catholic Diocese of Worcester – basically a group of anal, proud, unyielding old Irish guys who happen to be “clergy” – for money. Why do I feel this way? Because they recently met with fellow powerful Irish Catholic, St. John’s/Fordam University alum Chamber of Commerce head Tim Murray. Murray is a BIG TIME gentrifier and big time Catholic. The ducks were being lined up … As Donald Trump would put it: SAD.

Mauro DePasquale and the Italian Americans who want to save and restore their beautiful old church are/were never in the Tim Murray-former-City Manager Mike O’Brien political circle of trust, that rigid roley-poley cabal that still runs Worcester and pays you municipal jobs, political connections, back-room deals … in short, power … if you are Irish, went to Fordam or Holy Cross and give them your soul. Tangentially speaking, now washed-up-pol Murray (precisely BECAUSE he tried to transfer the clubby political Worcester MO to a state-wide political campaign and was LAUGHED OFF THE STATE STAGE) is part of/connected to the Irish Catholic gang on Elm Street in the chi chi chancery.

So when the Bishop crowed at a recent public meeting that he rang up Murray and met with Murray I knew the fix was in for Mt. Carmel. These two Irish Catholic bros wanna move – for different reasons: the Bishop for $$$/Murray for development – that Mt. Carmel parcel of land just sitting fallow in the middle of a flourishing hipster business and restaurant district, a district ripe for another fucking artisan bakery that sells $7 loaves of bread, clothing boutique, bacon bar or something else that you eat, drink or wear to make yourself feel more cool, less fat, more sexy, more intelligent, etc., I knew it was over. I told Mauro he had to compromise, give these assholes some of what they wanted. AND MAURO AND THE MT. CARMEL PRESERVATION SOCIETY SHOULD, AT THE VERY LEAST, GET A NEW, SMALLER CHURCH AS REWARD FOR RELINQUISHING THEIR GRAND DREAM. Maybe with the mosaic and altar and other precious architectural details fom the old church incorporated into the new one.

Sad.

The Bishop probably called Tim Murray after Mauro and the church preservation society were on their way to having the church and its environs declared a Historic District – this move would make it much harder for the Catholic church to do anything to the property. That’s when the Bishop panicked. He’d lose money. More important, he’d lose CONTROL. Very crucial to the self worth of the old school, by the books, dogmatic, soul-crushing Catholic big wigs. More crucial than Jesus and what He stood for. The Bishop called Murray to squelch the church preservation society’s effort.

This makes even more sense – in a pathetic kind of way – if you know this back story: Mauro DePasquale and his wife Tracy head WCCA, the local cable access TV station. Former Worcester City Manager Mike O’Brien, another devout Irish Catholic, spent years trying to kill their TV station – never liked them or the cable money they were getting to pay for their jobs, their staffers etc. O’Brien felt the dough was City of Worcester money and wanted WCCA shuttered. He wanted the thousands of dollars WCCA gets to flow to the City of Worcester TV station where HE could CONTROL EVERYTHING: programming, staff, point of view … squeezing out Mauro, his wife, and Mauro’s staff…

And so began the death by a thousand cuts with WCCA losing funding every year. Mauro, a Worcester guy who grew up on Bell Hill, was shaken, upset. He called O’Brien, but Mauro’s phone calls weren’t returned, meetings with O’Brien were cancelled last minute. The city of Worcester government TV channel was beefed up by O’Brien – surreptitiously, of course. The dance goes on to this day with the new city manager following O’Brien’s lead, building and growing a state-of-the-art City of Worcester government TV channel, slowly cutting off WCCA. But Mauro has hung tough. He still has his beloved TV station and runs it his way – OPEN TO ALL VOICES IN THE COMMUNITY. It’s amazing that he’s got the energy for the Mount Carmel fight in light of the eternal battle to save WCCA TV. Of course, on the Mt. Carmel front, he’s basically up against the same assholes.

Sad.

Where is the love hiding in all these freakin’ Catholics?!

To make things even sadder: We hear a real estate investor pal of former Worcester City Councilor Phil Palmieri is jonesin’ to buy the primo real estate parcel from the Diocese of Worcester. Palmieri, when in office, represented in part, the people of Shrewsbury Street, Mt. Carmel church. But he is also a local developer, owning that big building next to East Park and other East Side property. Phil’s a good guy but a money$$$$ guy. He knows the land on which Mt. Carmel and its rec center sit is worth millions! Millions! Because instead of simply being located in Worcester’s ol’ Italian neighborhood, it’s now located in the middle of Worcester’s booming, blooming urban coolio extravaganza – a $$$$-generating hipster business and restaurant mish mash that millenials love to patronize. It’s as if Mt. Carmel, low on parishoners, high on a pastor who could often be seen down the street at the glitzy bar of Coral Seafood enjoying a drink, is a cultural anachronism. Even its pastor was imbibing at one of the hippest spots on Shrewsbury Street!

There seems to be no room for an Italian church whose flock has diminished, moved away … or died. Mauro believes the parish is still strong and is growing stronger by the day now that everything can be lost. Forever! He believes folks who care about Worcester history and architecture support his group’s efforts.

I said on his voicemail: CUT A DEAL, Mauro! THERE IS NO WAY YOU CAN WIN THIS. THE IRISH BISHOP HAS CALLED THE IRISH HEAD OF THE WORCESTER CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. The politics are against you.

In Worcester, that’s everything.

*******

From the Mount Carmel Preservation Society:

IMPORTANT

Please make every effort to attend for what may be an historic MPS meeting

Monday night – January 2, 2017

6:30 PM

The meeting will be held at WCCA TV studios 415 Main St. (Parking on street or municipal lots on Pearl/Elm St. or Commercial Street.)

We will communicate to you what has transpired with our meeting with the Bishop and I will ask you to vote to decide what our next step will be for the future of our church and our mission to Fix (reopen) the Church and Save the Parish on Mulberry Street.

I wish you all a wonderful blessed, healthy, happy, and peaceful new year.

God Bless us all!

SEE YOU MONDAY NIGHT!

Mauro DePasquale, President, Mount Carmel Preservation Society

http://www.preserveourladyofmountcarmel.org

Animal Issues

Edith in A.I…Worcester, should we preserve, restore or replace?

May 28, 2016 admin

By Edith Morgan

We Worcesterites are in the midst of making decisions about many of the distinctive structures that dot our city, and that give testimony to some part of our history. In the cse of some, the decision has already been made, and they have either been razed and replaced (for example, The Odd Fellows Home on Randolph Road), or “repurposed” (like the Higgins Armory building, whose collection is now part of the Worcester Art Museum’s collections).

Still in limbo are Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, and under threat of being razed is Notre Dame des Canadiens. And countless old school buildings are now condominiums, scattered in various parts of the city.

Resurrected beautifully, a number of buildings now serve their original purposes: Union Station, so long left to disintegrate, now stands proudly beside the I 290 highway, host once again to trains and now also busses going to many places far and near. The Hanover Theatre too is a joy to attend, as is the jewel of Worcester restorations, Mechanics Hall, also saved from disintegration. And this past week, Memorial Grove in Green Hill Park, while not a building, was replanted in time for Memorial Day 2016.

While Worcester is not yet really a great tourist destination, we are taking steps to put ourselves on the map. What other destination cities have that we still do not have is a pedestrian-friendly environment. We are still plagued by narrow streets, too much traffic, narrow and uneven sidewalks, and lack of consistent street signs that enable newcomers to our city to get around.

ICT editor Rosalie took these photos today. Lower Endicott Street. Illegal garbage-dumping makes Worcester univiting – and scary. It’s a big problem in District 4.

My husband and I just returned from a long trip around the U.S., and we have both in the past travelled widely around various parts of the world. So we have had a chance to look at what makes other places attractive to people. Each place hs its own attractions: sometimes it is geography (unusual scenery, water, hills and mountains, perfect climate, etc.); sometimes it is newness and cleanliness, and a sensible layout of streets and walks; other times it is trails through nature, or through historical sites – even cemeteries and monuments commemorating important events. Whatever the attraction, there is sufficient public support to publicize these “wonders” and to welcome visitors.

One feature that ALL these cited have is that they are very well maintained: they are not trashed by either inhabitants or visitors, and there is always a staff continuously cleaning, pruning, replanting and repainting so that all always looks attractive, safe and really cared for. There is a commitment to daily maintenance because there is an understanding that no matter how beautiful your structures are, and how great your parks and buildings are, no one will feel safe if sites seem neglected and abandoned.

So, Worcester, let’s decide what we want to show off and really commit to paying to keep it all looking and feeling inviting to all!