CLEVELAND, Ohio -- St. Casimir Catholic Church reopened with Mass this morning amid a colorful procession of neighborhood and Polish-American pride, making it the first of the once-shuttered Cleveland churches to be restored to use after a Vatican ruling in March.
The crowd of more than 1,000 people overflowed the pews, applauding several times as Polish Legion of American Veterans Post 31 and Knights of Columbus units marched in before the service, joined by a few of the parishioners who had been staging weekly vigils to keep the church alive since its closure in 2009.
Outside, parishioners had hugged, telling one another that it was a great day, exclaiming, "Today, we're inside" after 140 weeks of prayers outside the padlocked gates of the boarded-up building.
"It's such an exciting day," said Margaret Feckanin, who took part in the vigils. "I compare this day to my wedding day.
"It's exciting and wonderful and it's a new beginning."
Cleveland Catholic Diocese Bishop Richard Lennon closed 50 parishes in the eight-county diocese between 2009 and 2010, citing a shortage of cash, parishioners and priests.
But several parishes appealed their closings to the Vatican. Following a ruling in March by the Vatican, Lennon is now reopening 11 churches, including St. Casimir. In June, Lennon named the Rev. Eric Orzech, pastor of St. Stanislaus in Slavic Village, to take on St. Casimir in a dual pastorship.
Orzech thanked parishioners and friends for their work to keep the church alive.
"Countless hours, countless people, so much dedication, so many prayers have now brought fruit," he told the crowd.
He was cautious, though, about calling the reopening a miracle, as some have. But he noted: "I haven't seen anything like it happen before. Have you?"
Tina Girod, a longtime church member who wrote St. Casimir's appeal to the Vatican, said before the service that she knew the appeal was a "huge long-shot" and that the reopening feels like a dream.
"I know it's happening, but until I hear the first 'In the name of the Father and of the son' I won't believe it's real," Girod said.
St. Casimir was founded by Polish immigrants in 1892. Named for a patron saint of Poland, it thrived in a heavily Polish neighborhood for years, conducting services in both Polish and English. Today, for example, the service alternated between the two languages for hymns and prayers.
The twin-towered church that now houses the parish was built in 1918. In 1969, it was visited by Polish Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, who later became Pope John Paul II.
Polish flags or other red-and-white displays have been prominent as supporters of the church held prayer services and a weekly vigil outside the church.
Parishioners have felt hostility toward Lennon since he announced the closing in 2009. When the Bishop went to St. Casimir Nov. 8, 2009, to say the last Mass and officially de-sanctify the 91-year-old building, hecklers shouted "Judas!" at him and angry worshipers broke out in Polish songs, interrupting the service.
A man in his 90s pulled the plug on the bishop's microphone. Girod said she hopes that anger does not return.
"We need to let a lot of that discord go and carry on for the future of St. Casimir," she said.
St. Casimir was the second closed church in the diocese slated to reopen today, with St. John the Baptist in Akron celebrating Mass at 10 a.m.
Besides those churches, the others that are slated to re-open are: St. Barbara, St. Peter, St. Wendelin, St. Patrick (West Park), St. Adalbert and St. Emeric, all of Cleveland; St. Mary in Akron; St. James in Lakewood; and St. Mary in Bedford.
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