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	Future Unclear for Troy Parishes Meeting Set on Plan That Would Close 2 Churches, Including St. Peter's By Marc Parry Albany Times Union June 3, 2008 http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=693044&category=REGION&newsdate=6/3/2008 TROY — St. Peter's, known as the "mother of Troy parishes," is one of two churches that would close under a plan expected to be presented to the Albany Catholic Diocese this month, according to a person close to the process. The plan would merge three of the city's historically Irish parishes — St. Peter's, St. Paul the Apostle and St. Patrick's — into one. St. Paul's and St. Peter's would close, said the person, who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity, with St. Patrick's remaining as the merged parish's worship site. The proposal is part of a sweeping restructuring under way throughout a 14-county diocese grappling with population shifts and fewer priests. Parishes have been clustered into local planning groups that must evaluate their financial and personnel resources and make recommendations to the diocese by June 30. Bishop Howard Hubbard is not expected to announce any final decisions until January. Parishioners will have a chance to ask questions about the Troy proposal at a 7 p.m. town meeting June 12 at St. Augustine's at Fourth Avenue and 115th Street. "Right now we can't tell what is going to happen, so we're just hanging in there hoping for the best," said Cornelius Thomas, 79, a longtime St. Peter's parishioner. Some local historians describe St. Peter's, founded in 1824, as the third-oldest parish in the state. Today, the Fifth Avenue church offers the only known traditional Latin Mass in the diocese, according to diocesan spokesman Kenneth Goldfarb. "The bishop has made it clear that whatever occurs here, there will continue to be a traditional Latin Mass available to that community," Goldfarb said. St. Patrick's was established out of the northern part of St. Peter's in a neighborhood filled with Irish immigrants who worked in factories, mills and foundries. The Sixth Avenue church celebrated its 135th anniversary last year. Hubbard, a Troy native, graduated from St. Patrick's School. Information about the proposed three-church merger was distributed in church bulletins this weekend, but the write-up does not say which churches would likely close. Frank Berning, facilitator for the planning group, would not confirm that those are likely to be St. Peter's and St. Paul's. "I need an opportunity to present the full plan to the community first," he said. Marc Parry can be reached at 454-5057 or by e-mail at mparry@timesunion.com
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