YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Several Catholic church buildings in Ashtabula, as well as Rootstown, are set to close for all sacred and religious activities.
The Diocese of Youngstown announced that Mother of Sorrows and Saint Joseph churches, both located in Ashtabula, will be "reduced to profane but not sordid use" effective Nov. 30, 2025. The churches were part of a 2011 merger that combined three Catholic churches within two miles of each other into Our Lady of Peace Parish.
In Portage County, the original Saint Peter of the Fields Church building in Rootstown will also close due to severe water damage to both the church and its basement. The building had already been out of use for Mass services for several years.
According to Monsignor John Zuraw with the diocese, the closures stem from a combination of factors plaguing the diocese: aging buildings requiring extensive repairs, declining parish populations, and a shortage of priests.
"With the decline of population, we are doing our best effort to consolidate these parishes so that people continue to worship and continue to be a part of vibrant communities," Monsignor John Zuraw with the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown said. "We have 45 active priests, but there are 68 parishes so many of us are doubling up or some of our priests are having ministries in three areas."
Mother of Sorrows Church suffered ceiling damage that could potentially be repaired, but the diocese noted that such work would only address a limited section and comes with no guarantee that the work would end there.
In a statement, Saint Joseph Church has "several needs to be addressed, however, due to the decline of the neighborhood, it was necessary to institute a sign-up procedure to safeguard parishioners and parish property for weekly prayer. Since the Octave of Easter, no one has been participating in the preservation of the spiritual and historical heritage of the church."
For longtime parishioners like Louie Parco, who served as an altar boy at Mother of Sorrows, the closure hurts.
"It means a lot. It really does," Parco said. "It means a lot to the people around here. I hope they don't tear it down."
Parco's mother and other community members are upset about having to travel farther for church services when they have what he describes as "a beautiful one in our neighborhood."
The future of the church buildings remains uncertain.
Local church officials will determine whether the properties should be sold or if they can remain standing, given the extensive work needed for repairs.
Bishop David Bonnar of the Diocese of Youngstown acknowledged the difficulty of these decisions in a statement, saying the church "must live in reality" and "adjust to the realities before us even as painful as they may be."
"The Church is more than bricks and mortar," Bonnar said in a statement. "The Church is the people of God living out their faith as a community of believers in Jesus Christ continuing his mission of love and mercy."
The closures are part of the diocese's ongoing Diocesan Pastoral Plan, which was originally developed in 2019 to address changing demographics and maintain focus on ministry despite operational challenges.
