L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 30 L'Italo-Americano T his fall, the 107- y e a r - o l d O u r Lady of Mount Virgin Catholic Church will not be open for M a s s o r b a p - tisms, weddings or confes- sions. In a two-page state- m e n t f r o m t h e S e a t t l e Archdiocese issued in July, parishioners learned that their pleas and protests had come to a dead end: the his- toric church built to cater to the spiritual needs of Seat- tle's Italian immigrant com- m u n i t y w a s c l o s i n g . T h e news – while expected – was still a blow. It's a story that is playing out in many communities across the country: fewer p e o p l e a t t e n d i n g M a s s , fewer priests available to conduct the sacraments, less money to maintain century- o l d b u i l d i n g s . B e f o r e t h e COVID-19 pandemic, about 360 worshippers attended Mass weekly at Our Lady of Mount Virgin, down from a b o u t 4 8 0 p a r i s h i o n e r s seven years ago. COVID-19 decimated in- p e r s o n g a t h e r i n g s , a n d c h u r c h e s w e r e s e r i o u s l y affected. Fewer attendees m e a n f e w e r d o l l a r s , a n d parish income dropped by about one-third in the past f i v e y e a r s . I n t h e S e a t t l e Archdiocese, attendance at Mass has fallen more than 1 5 % f r o m 1 9 9 9 - 2 0 1 8 . Although the city population increased dramatically dur- ing the same period, bap- tisms in Seattle dropped by m o r e t h a n o n e - f i f t h a n d c h u r c h m a r r i a g e s w e r e halved. What is still vibrant, how- ever, are the strong emo- tional bonds that tie Seat- t le' s It ali an Ameri can community to Mount Vir- gin parish. Generations of f a m i l i e s w o r s h i p p e d a n d made lifelong friends there, m a r r i e d t h e r e a n d w e r e buried there. The announce- ment from the archdiocese was met with a mix of emo- t i o n s i n c l u d i n g s a d n e s s , anger, even suspicion. More than a century ago, Our Lady of Mount Virgin, located in the Mount Baker neighborhood, was the heart of Seattle's Italian communi- ty. The parish was estab- lished without geographic b o u n d a r i e s s o i t c o u l d attend to the spiritual needs of the Italian-speaking faith- ful wherever they lived in the city. Mount Virgin was estab- lished in 1911 on the site of an older church called St. Boniface, which had served the German community. As n e w i m m i g r a n t s a r r i v e d from Italy, it became one of the first places they would visit for information on jobs or help with housing. Within a few years, the p a r i s h p r i e s t , F a t h e r Ludovico Caramello, a charismatic and energetic J e s u i t f r o m T u r i n , I t a l y , decided a new church was n e e d e d . H e r a i s e d f u n d s both in America and from his many contacts in Italy, and in 1915, his dream of a new church was realized. B u i l t i n a R e n a i s s a n c e Revival style on a steep hill overlooking lush gardens, Mount Virgin has tall arched stained-glass windows and a bell tower in the front. The parish was named after the f a m o u s B e n e d i c t i n e monastery of Montevergine in southern Italy. A few years later, in 1918, a parochial school was built nearby and opened with an enrollment of 162 students. Led by the Dominican sis- ters of Tacoma, the school remained in operation for more than 60 years. A l t h o u g h O u r L a d y o f Mount Virgin has changed little over the decades, the neighborhood has under- gone a significant transfor- mation. In 1940 and again in the 1990s, parish families were displaced by the con- struction and expansion of the Mount Baker tunnel, the last leg of I-90, which lies adjacent to the church. By the 1980s, many Ital- ian Americans had left the o l d n e i g h b o r h o o d a n d moved elsewhere in town or o u t t o t h e s u b u r b s . N e w immigrant groups replaced them and Masses began to be celebrated in multiple languages, including Viet- namese, Lao and Chinese. From the Archdiocese's point of view, due process was followed in the closing of Our Lady of Mount Vir- g i n . I n f a c t , t h e p l a n t o r e v i e w p a r i s h e s i n s o u t h S e a t t l e a n d r e c o m m e n d those for possible closure w a s c r a f t e d a b o u t e i g h t years ago. In more recent m o n t h s , t h e r e h a v e b e e n stakeholder meetings and l i s t e n i n g s e s s i o n s w h e r e p a r i s h i o n e r s c o u l d c o m e together and express their concerns. A letter-writing campaign was started as was a "Save Mt. Virgin" Face- book page. But feelings of frustration and disappointment bub- bled right below the surface. A t o n e o f t h e c o m m u n i t y meetings held this spring, the church hall was nearly full. Cries of "why are you doing this?" were repeatedly heard. One speaker voiced what many were feeling: "I w a s b a p t i z e d h e r e . M y grandmother got married here. Removing this church would be like removing the roots of the Italian commu- nity." In the official Decree of Suppression, church officials noted that the church was no longer serving its original purpose: "The parish was established as a personal parish for the Italian-speak- i n g c o m m u n i t y , b u t n o longer serves its founding goal of offering Mass in Ital- ian." The document goes on to cite the four cultural com- m u n i t i e s t h a t t h e c h u r c h was currently serving: Viet- namese, Chinese, Laotian and Anglophone, most of w h o m d o n o t l i v e i n t h e neighborhood. Amid declining attendance, historic Our Lady of Mount Virgin Catholic Church closes RITA CIPALLA Parishioners have written letters, attended meetings and filed appeals to keep Our Lady of Mount Virgin open (Photo: Save Mt Virgin Facebook page) SEATTLE ITALIAN COMMUNITY

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