By Alyson St. Amand
On Sunday nights during the school year, St. Ann’s University Parish on St. Stephen Street is a full house. Packed with over 300 area students and neighbors, the Catholic church’s contemporary approach caters to the college population.
“It’s not pray, pay and obey. It’s fun to go,” said senior psychology major Chris Brum, a regular parishioner and volunteer at St. Ann’s. “You really want to participate.”
But attendance and spirit weren’t enough to keep the doors of St. Ann’s open. On May 25, the church received notice from the Boston Archdiocese that it will be forced to shut its doors, leaving local parishioners, mostly students, seeking alternative ways to worship. The official closing date has yet to be determined.
Most of the church’s services have already moved to St. Cecilia’s Church on Belvedere Street, except for one service still held on Wednesday evenings at St. Ann’s. However, one of the Sunday masses at St. Cecilia’s will reflect St. Ann’s style of service, Brum said.
A mass at St. Ann’s includes a homily by Father John Unni directed towards the college population, parishioners said. The music, which often has a reggae influence, involves both student vocalists and instrumentalists with the use of drums, a guitar and a piano.
“St. Ann’s is convenient and on campus,” Unni said. “It’s vibrant, it’s alive and there’s personality to it.”
St. Ann’s is just one of 70 Massachusetts churches the Boston Archdiocese will close in the wake of the church sex abuse scandal.
Unni expects to be informed within the next few weeks of the official closing date for the church. He said he expects the Archdiocese will have specific procedure for the closing of the building and the removal of all its properties.
“It makes sense financially right now, but may have a really detrimental affect on the spiritual life of the current university,” Unni said.
He also said he is unsure what he will do when the church closes. He is currently the administrator at St. Cecilia’s Church in addition to being a pastor at St. Ann’s.
In addition to the closing of the church, Unni said he is also worried about his home and the church’s student center located across the street from St. Ann’s. The center contains his apartment, campus ministry offices and Northeastern’s Catholic campus connection, the Newman Club.
Liane Marquis, a junior English and human services major who is both a member of the Newman Club and serves on the parish council, said she thinks the relocation of the church, a potential 15 minutes of additional walking time, may discourage students initially.
The parish council is looking into the possibility of a shuttle service from Northeastern to St. Cecilia’s, especially in the winter months, Marquis said. The council also discussed meeting as a group in front of St. Ann’s in the fall to walk over together, she said.
But although an enthusiastic spirit could not keep the doors of St. Ann’s open, Marquis and others in the religious community said they believe the relocation of the parishioners should not affect the personality of the church.
Director of Spiritual Life Shelli Jankowski-Smith said she thinks St. Ann’s is more about the people than a place of worship.
“I think they are going to stick together and still be a close and strong community even through the change,” Jankowski-Smith said.
Brum also said the church is not about a location and instead thinks it is about God and community.
“I hope there is more to that community than the building itself. I think now the obligation is on us to have a more Catholic presence on campus because we no longer have a central location,” Brum said.
The Newman Club has put in a request to the Archdiocese to keep the St. Ann’s Student Center open and they also applied for an office in the Curry Student Center, but did not receive space, said Student Affairs Board co-Chair Michael Benson. The club does a number of community service events and holds social events, religious activities and discussions, Marquis said.
The fate of the church and the student center is still very much in the works, Unni said, but he has been discussing options with a number of people.
Larry Mucciolo, senior vice president for administration and finance, said Northeastern is considering its options when it comes to St. Ann’s, including the possibility of buying the property.
“Given the location and a range of student needs, we would evaluate the opportunity,” Mucciolo said.
But, he said, “until we know more, it’s hard to address potential uses or costs.”
Unni said St. Ann’s Parish is the only church closing he is aware of that is affecting a local college community.
Boston University holds religious services at the Marsh Chapel, a non-denominational chapel owned by the university, and doors remain open at St. Ignatius Parish which serves the Boston College community and at St. Paul’s Parish which serves Harvard Univ-ersity and Lesley College.
But Unni seems hopeful for the future, despite the uncertainty. He said he would love for the church to reopen in the future and hopes that he can keep his job as a campus minister.
“Nobody is making college students come to church and the fact that we pack out is saying something – that there is a hunger out there. I think we need to think clearly about having a worship place,” Unni said. “These are formative years. You guys are the future of the church.”
