PSA: A new pilgrimage

The New York Times has an article in today's paper about some Catholic churches in MA that were supposed to be shut down after the priest abuse scandals a few years ago, in part to pay the settlement the church reached with the victims. Parishioners didn't want their churches sacrificed for money, particularly in one case -- St. Frances Xavier Cabrini church in Scituate, MA -- where the parish was financially solvent and the church in good condition.

Parishioners at that church have been holding a vigil since 2004, one that's lasted 1,533 days now, to keep the archdiocese from selling the property. They claim they've been singled out to be sold along with churches in disrepair and dire financial straits because the church's assessed value is $4.4 million. But the situation, to me, seems less important than what's come as a result.

People who participate in the vigil, which has gone on every day, 24 hours/day, since the official closing of the church, hold their own church services run entirely by lay people, minus consecrating the sacrament. Before Christmas, they held a service officiated entirely by women.

Several parishioners quoted in the article cite their way of running things as the way of the future (with the priesthood dwindling, lay people should take over most of their duties, they say), and some aren't sure they'd ever like to go back to the old way. They still consider themselves Catholic but no longer think of themselves as "mainstream."

The church is open to visitors, too: People seeking respite or someone to listen find it there.

Vigilants -- vigilanties, maybe -- report that they experience their faith in ways they never had before, as an active part of their lives and a source of passionate investment in the church and faith.

I suspect this is one of the most significant things happening in the regional Catholic church, and I'm surprised and impressed by it -- enough that were I to plan a modern-day New England pilgrimage, I would include St. Frances on my stop list. I might include all five churches that are vigilant against their closing.

In fact, I might plan a pilgrimage around them.

Let me know if you're interested in going.