An ominous sign…or not

[figgyprez]

I attended mass this weekend at St. Aedan’s. That is the official church of spu. At the end of mass the administrator Fr. Danzi announced that after 13 years the university had decided to end its relationship with St. Aedan’s and it will revert to diocesan control. In the announcement administrative and economic factors were cited. There is much interaction between the university-campus ministry food/clothing support etc. idk what happens after the transition on 7/1 but given that a new president is in the offing I wonder whether this is a policy decision or omens of continuing economic distress. If it is the latter there could be ripples throughout the school including athletics. Hope it’s a religious reorganization not an economic sign. I’ve only been a parishioner there 2 years. Perhaps we have posters with longer experience who know better

[spc91]

My guess is that this is an economic decision. Must be pretty expensive to maintain the church. I’m not sure what the parish is bringing in but, if the congregation is small, this move makes sense.

[youngalum]

Wow figgy I would take that as an ominous sign myself. While I am not Catholic I think it is important for "Saint Peter's University" to have it's own church...and a beautiful one at that. Combined with the fact we sold off a huge part of our residential campus under the "we dont' need them anymore"guise makes me concerned. Extremely important they get the next Presidential hire correct....a trip back to the NCAA tourney wouldn't hurt either.

[Peacock]

Like it or not, running a parish is very expensive. Even those in rich neighborhoods have money issues. The future of the University is at the mercy of their business management. Keeping the parish might have been more ominous. Marist faced a similar challenge and would up going secular in administration. I don’t see that as the Jesuit tag is the driving force for the school.

[figgyprez]

To put some color on this. The weekly collection runs in the 6k area. The congregation is highly Latino and Filipino. There seems to be much in the way of volunteer service in the parish. The plant itself includes the church and a residence. The old school is now a charter school I believe. Spu uses the parking lot as its own. Spu campus ministry utilizes the old convent for its food/ clothing services. The clergy are all Jesuits so salary isn’t an issue but the church is large and as peacock points out heat/ac/ maintenance are likely substantial.

[Peacock]

Does SPU still own the Hudson Catholic facility.