Closed Chicopee church to have Mass again

CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) - The doors of St. Patrick’s Church in Chicopee have been closed for years, but on December 1st, they will be open to worshipers again.

Father Darisuz P. Wudarski, the Pastor of Holy Name of Jesus Parish in Chicopee announced Wednesday that St. Patrick’s would re-open for a single weekly Mass starting at the beginning of Advent.

The church on Broadway Street in Chicopee Falls was closed in 2009 as part of a series of parish closings across the Diocese of Springfield. St. Patrick’s parishioners were moved to Holy Name of Jesus in Chicopee Center.

A group of parishioners challenged the decision with the Vatican, which ruled that while the Diocese had been justified in dissolving St. Patrick’s as a parish, they could not sell the building or put it to a non-sacramental use.

The weekly Mass at St. Patrick’s will be held on Saturday afternoons at 5:30 P.M, except on Holy Days and on Easter Weekend.