The fight to keep the historic Church of St. Veronica in the West Village open continues with a public Mass on the horizon June 7.
The upcoming ceremony marks another saga in the long-simmering quarrel between parishioners and New York state’s Roman Catholic leadership. The Mass is a sign of progress for the parishioners who are fighting to keep the church afloat. At the same time the Archdiocese of New York has thrown cold water on the prospect of more expansive plans to open the church.
“This Mass is to mark the anniversary of the dedication of the church. It is not part of a plan to re-establish a regular schedule of Masses at the church,” Archdiocese spokesperson Joe Zwilling wrote to amNY/The Villager.
The St. Veronica’s Moving Forward Committee, which is leading the effort to keep the church open, says that the planning of the Mass is yet another indication that the Archdiocese wants to sell the property instead of rehabilitating it. They are alleging that the Mass time — 11 a.m. on a weekday — was set intentionally hoping for low turnout to try and justify the reclosure and sale of the property. In response, they are signal boosting news of the Mass and rallying members of the community to support the church.
The Archdiocese said that Mass was scheduled for when the priest celebrant was available to celebrate it.
After the church’s former pastor closed the church with little notice in 2017, the Vatican officially re-sanctified it as an active church in 2020 — pending a legal appeal in Vatican courts that the church was closed improperly.
Until the decision is made, the advocates maintain that it’s Catholic law to hold at least two annual, public Masses and to ensure that it’s open for daily silent prayer and meditation hours. Additionally the Archdiocese is required by Canon and New York City law as a historical landmark, to properly maintain the property.
The public masses are the only one of these responsibilities that the church has been actively upholding, the supporters say.
“They have not cooperated on anything else since besides these two masses. That’s the only time we’re able to go into that church,” said Vincent Orgo.
Cindy Boyle, another committee member, said that she expects the Vatican court case could take years to resolve, “considering the glacial pace of Vatican jurisprudence.”
“The Archdiocese of New York continues to ignore our requests for Prayer Hours, and we continue to pester,” Boyle said.
Beyond the disagreement over public hours, parishioners say the condition of the church amounts to another violation of city and Catholic law. The Archdiocese has refused to fix a leak in the roof, which continues to damage the interior ceiling and walls, advocates say, despite getting an offer from the Landmarks Conservancy to help fund it. Drone photos that the committee took show holes missing shingles, and mortar missing from the roof of the sanctuary. The Archdiocese did not respond to an inquiry about the condition of the roof.
And now it’s not just the Vatican investigating the church. On Wednesday the Landmarks Preservation Commission said that it is sending an enforcement officer to investigate the condition of the leak and make a determination on whether the Archdiocese have kept up the property in accordance with city law.
