Hundreds gather with Bishop Robert Deeley to celebrate the final Mass at Notre Dame Church in Springvale
Hundreds of parishioners gathered with Bishop Robert Deeley on Saturday, February 11, to celebrate the final Mass at Notre Dame de Lourdes Church in Springvale.
“A moment like this is bittersweet,” the bishop said. “We look back fondly on all the graced moments that happened in this church and we give thanks. And yet, we acknowledge that there is a sadness in our parting from here.”
The Mass, which was held on the memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes, was an opportunity for parishioners to gather one last time in the place that had been their spiritual home and to remember and reflect on what it has meant to their lives.
“Fifty-two years ago tomorrow, my husband and I were married right here. So I have a lot of memories from here,” said Julie Kostis. “When I was a child, my mother was the organist in this church for years and years. At almost every Mass, she would play.”
“I was in the first group of girl altar servers that were allowed here. I'm going to say it was 1981-82," said Laurie Gaudreau, who served with her brother, Jeff. “We served for many bishops, and we served on Holy Thursday, Good Friday, all of Holy Week."
“It has meant a lot to me because I wasn’t raised Catholic, and I became Catholic in this parish,” said Robert Tyler, who attended the church for nearly 40 years. “My two kids were married here. Most of my grandchildren were baptized here.”
The current Notre Dame de Lourdes Church, with its distinct turquoise, green, and white windows, opened in 1963, but the history of the Catholic community in Springvale goes back to the late 1800s.
“It was the original community for people who came to this area. Sanford was just a small spot on the map, not very highly populated until the mills came down here. The mills started out right here, on the other side of the church,” said Patrick Demers, a lifelong parishioner. “When they had the first Masses here in Springvale, the priest came from Rochester, and he came by train. The railroad came right through here.”
Notre Dame de Lourdes Parish was the first Catholic parish to be established in Springvale, with the first church opening in 1890, not far from where the current church stands today. With the area's population continuing to grow with the increasing productivity of the mills, it wouldn't be long before it became evident a larger church was needed. A new church building, which also included a parish hall and school, opened in 1916. Then, in the 1960s, the current church was built just across the parking lot. The second church building, renamed Bishop Cote Hall in honor of native son, Bishop Michael Cote, continued to be used for events and is where parishioners gathered for a reception following the closing Mass.
From the start, Notre Dame de Lourdes was a neighborhood church, with parishioners living on the surrounding streets. It is that sense of community that parishioners said they will miss the most.
“It’s a community I grew up with. It’s the people I know. My grandfather had a drug store here in town, and we knew all the people,” said Demers.
“It was a nice, tight-knit community of parishioners. Many walked to church,” said Mark Hegarty.
“It was always a welcoming, homey parish. We knew each other, and we talked to each other. We would go to breakfast after Mass,” said Tyler.
In recent years, Notre Dame had been using more sparingly, with parishioners primarily attending Mass at Holy Family Church, located about two miles away in Sanford.
St. Thérèse of Lisieux Parish made the decision to close Notre Dame to save on the high cost of maintenance and so that resources could be dedicated to invigorating the Holy Family Church campus, which also includes St. Thomas School. Plans call for the building of a new pastoral center.
“It’s a bittersweet moment because we are closing this church and selling the property, ending a long legacy of Catholicism in this area, but we’re not doing that because it’s a contraction. We’re doing it because we want to build a parish center and have Holy Family Church become the center of Catholicism in Sanford: Holy Family Church, our parish hall, the school right across the street. I like it to call it the Catholic corner of Sanford. It’s the first corner you come to of significance in Sanford,” said Father Wilfred Labbe, pastor. “It’s time that we do these kind of things to offer better catechesis, to build a stronger community.”
Parishioners said they understand why the church is closing, but nevertheless, they said it is tough to say goodbye..
“It’s going to be hard for us in this community and the people who came here for so many years,” said Tyler. “I’m going to miss it. I love this church.”
