Northampton's Sacred Heart Parish gets new name, priests
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NORTHAMPTON - Parishioners of the city's Catholic churches got the first glimpse this weekend of a consolidated parish forming after the new year. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish will open its doors Jan. 4, 2010, in what is now Sacred Heart Church at 101 King St., led by a "collaborative ministry" of two priests, the Rev. John Connors and the Rev. Sean O'Mannion.
The appointment of two priests to lead a parish is a new approach for the region, said Mark Dupont, a spokesman for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield. It was recommended by a lay advisory group made up of members of each of the closing parishes, he said.
"We're really testing the waters with this in Northampton," Dupont said.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield ordered the closing and consolidation of several churches across the region in response to shrinking congregations and a shortage of priests.
In Northampton, churches slated to close are St. John Cantius on Hawley Street, St. Mary of the Assumption on Elm Street at the corner of State Street, and either Blessed Sacrament on Elm Street or Our Lady of the Annunciation on Beacon Street in Florence. One of the latter two churches is expected to serve as a chapel.
It's unclear how many people will join the new congregation.
There are about 4,300 practicing Catholics in Northampton, according to the diocese. The sizes of the congregations of Sacred Heart, St. Mary's and St. John Cantius were not available.
After a number of churches consolidated in Pittsfield last year, Dupont said, there was a "shake-out period" as parishioners found new churches to attend.
"It took a few months for people to decide where they would (find) their spiritual home," Dupont said.
A familiar face
A Northampton native with a master's degree in French from the University of Massachusetts, O'Mannion is currently the parochial vicar at Holy Name Parish in Springfield. He is the son of Aileen Mannning of Northampton and the late John Manning.
O'Mannion was an associate editor with Merriam-Webster before enrolling in Blessed John XXIII Seminary in Weston. While studying for the priesthood, he ministered to jailed addicts and on a Sioux reservation in South Dakota.
Last year O'Mannion told the Gazette he felt called to the ministry from early childhood, but put this calling on hold for decades. He converted to Catholicism in his 30s, and was ordained last year at the age of 44.
"When I finally surrendered to the call, and cooperated with God's will as best as I could ascertain it, then peace and - ironically - the deepest self-realization came," O'Mannion said. "They came as by-products of me discerning the best way to serve God in my life."
Connors is currently pastor at St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in Ludlow.
Originally from Kansas, Connors served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1971 to 1973. He went on to hold management positions with the Russell Stover, Ford, Lipton and Becton-Dickinson companies before joining the priesthood. Also a Blessed John alumnus, Connors was ordained in 2001.
The new parish is named after Elizabeth (Bayley) Seton, the first American-born person to be canonized by the Catholic Church.
The name was selected by Bishop Timothy McDonnell from several suggested by parishioners of the three consolidating churches, said Sacred Heart secretary Theresa Bimbane.
Seton founded the Sisters of Charity and helped establish the country's first free Catholic school in Maryland in the early 19th century. She died in 1821 at the age of 46, 16 years after converting to Catholicism. She was canonized in 1975.
Dupont noted the new parish's opening day is St. Elizabeth's feast day.
James F. Lowe can be reached at jlowe@gazettenet.com.
