St. Pius church in Warren being bought by Summit Academy

St. Pius church in Warren being bought by Summit Academy

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Summit Academy, a charter school, is in the process of buying property at St. Pius X Church, 1401 Moncrest Ave. NW, for $705,000. Bishop George V. Murry of the Diocese of Youngstown accepted the offer.

The Rev. Nicholas Shori, director of the Parish Implementation Plan, said Summit is buying the school building with attached church and three adjacent garages. “The final details are being worked out,” Father Shori said Tuesday. He also commented on “an upswing in interest” about other available church properties.

St. Pius X Church merged with St. Joseph Church, 420 North St. NW, and Christ Our King Church, 1000 Tod Ave. SW, on Aug. 1, 2011, as Blessed John Paul II Parish. “The parish is creating a new identity,” Father Shori said.

The Rev. Chris Henyk is pastor.

St. Pius remains open as worship site; its closing date to be determined. Christ Our King is closed.

The sale does not include St. Pius rectory, convent and pavilion, which will be maintained by Blessed John Paul II. The new parish office will be located there, Father Shori said.

The Parish Implementation Plan in the diocese began in May 2010 to reduce the number of parishes from 112 to 87. Downsizing was necessary because of fewer priests to pastor churches and changing demographics in the six-county diocese of Mahoning, Trumbull, Columbiana, Ashtabula, Portage and Stark.

A news release from the diocese noted that the sale accomplishes three points:

• St. Pius Church debt of more than $500,000 will be eliminated. If the church remained open, repairs and renovations would have cost between $450,000 and $650,000.

• The new parish of Blessed John Paul II will have savings in the bank.

• Social outreach and religious education ministries will be maintained by the new parish.

Bishop Murry said his decision was made after consultation with the Priests Council, parish leadership team and parishioners. It was based on what he and his advisers believe is in best interest of the parish as a whole.

The bishop released a letter to parishioners over the weekend, which acknowledged the difficulty of acceptance in closing churches. The letter noted “demographic changes in our area, economic problems and a shortage of priests have led to a reconfiguring of our ministries.”

The bishop emphasized that “combining our pastoral resources and becoming financially solvent” puts the diocese in a better position to spread the Gospel, serve parishioners and continue religious and social ministries.