Tears, hopes mesh at last Mass at East Side church

January 31, 2011 at 12:01a.m.

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Bishop George V. Murry delivers the final mass at Immaculate Conception Church in Youngstown.

YOUNGSTOWN

After 128 years, Immaculate Conception Church has closed its doors for good, but its heart and congregation will have a new home.

“It’s difficult, but we knew it was inevitable,” Julia Palazzo, a 61-year member, said after the 10 a.m. and final Mass on Sunday at the church, 811 Oak St., on the city’s East Side.

“It’s very difficult to do this.”

On Jan. 9, Immaculate Conception and Sacred Heart of Jesus Church merged as part of the Diocese of Youngstown’s Parish Reconfiguration and Implementation Plan. The plan was developed last year to consolidate or close certain Catholic churches that had been losing parishioners, money or both.

The result is the newly merged Immaculate Conception-Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish, which will celebrate its first Mass at 8:30 a.m. next Sundayat the new location, 400 Lincoln Park Drive on the East Side.

Palazzo served about 32 years as a secretary for the Immaculate Conception School across the street from the church. Palazzo also organized and hosted card parties and other events to raise money for the church, she fondly recalled.

The Boardman woman said she has bittersweet memories related to Immaculate Conception, established in 1882.

Her three children were baptized and received their first confirmations there. On the other hand, her husband, Nick, died in 1982 during the church’s 100-year anniversary, she explained.

All three children live out of town but attended Sunday’s final liturgy, said Palazzo, adding that she plans to go to Sacred Heart next weekend but is keeping her options open.

Palazzo was one of hundreds of people who filled the pews for the one-hour service. Looks of sadness and resignation seemed to be on the faces of most in the standing-room-only crowd, many of whom dabbed at tears.

Cosmo Pecchia of Boardman, who joined Immaculate Conception in the early 1970s, also raised three children in the church.

“It’s a sad day, but something dies and something starts up living again” said Pecchia, who raised his family on the East Side. “It’s the people who count.”

For about 17 years, Pecchia’s wife, Frances, directed a choir group called The Mustard Seeds, which was partly a folk group. Many youngsters were part of it, he recalled.

Pecchia said his fondest church memories center around the people he’s met and befriended over the years, something Pecchia said he hopes to continue at Sacred Heart.

“Change is everywhere; you have to accept it and move on,” said Grimilda Ocasio of Coitsville, who’s been a member for more than 30 years.

Ocasio said she was sad about the merger but added that she greatly appreciates the diversity of blacks, Hispanics, Italians, Irish and others who make up the congregation.

“It’s created a wonderful family,” Ocasio said, adding that she intends to remain a member and embrace the change.

Ocasio’s daughter, Grimilda Ocasio-Santiago, played flute during Sunday’s liturgy.

Delivering the homily was Bishop George V. Murry of the Diocese of Youngstown, who told the somber congregation that the people, traditions, memories and culture — not the building — make a church special.

“[Immaculate Conception] has a future and the future is you,” Bishop Murry said.

The movement of many Catholic families to other parts of the Mahoning Valley, financial problems, building repairs and a priest shortage are the main reasons such a change is necessary, he noted.

Between the 1870s and the 1920s, the Valley saw a large influx of immigrants, many of whom took jobs in the steel mills, coal mines and railroad industry as the need for heavy industry expanded, Bishop Murry explained.

During that time, a top church priority was making it easier for the new arrivals to adapt to life in the Valley, in part by offering courses in English and citizenship, he continued. Within a decade, Immaculate Conception had established itself as a place for Catholics from all walks of life to worship and care for one another, the bishop said.

The combined church should have close to 400 families, and it is hoped that number will grow, said the Rev. Kevin Peters, pastor.

No decision has been made regarding the Oak Street church, said Father Peters, who will serve as pastor of Immaculate Conception-Sacred Heart of Jesus. Nevertheless, the altar, pipe organ, pulpit and other artifacts are to be moved to the new location this week, he said.