Archdiocese shuts off utilities at Wellesley parish

By Jenna Russell, Globe Staff

Escalating its standoff with parishioners at a closed church building in Wellesley, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston has shut off heat and water at St. James the Great, angering church members who have occupied the church since it was closed in 2004.

The archdiocese, which has taken steps to sell several closed churches including St. James, shut off the boiler because it was deemed unsafe by the church’s insurance company, according to a statement released by the archdiocese yesterday. Officials decided not to repair the heating system and shut it down to prevent damage to the property, a spokesman said.

Parishioners who have maintained a vigil at the church for almost seven years voiced skepticism about the claim that the boiler was unsafe and disappointment that they were not given advance notice of the shutdown. But longtime vigil leaders said the lack of heat and water inside the building will not weaken their commitment.

“I can wear my overcoat,” said Paul Hughes of Wellesley, one of the St. James parishioners who started the vigil. “I don’t think it will have any effect ... I would hope that it would give us a stronger sense of unity, and even greater resolve.”

The latest action by the archdiocese follows years of legal wrangling and protests over the church closures. Parishioners still maintain vigils at several churches, including Wellesley, East Boston, and Scituate.

The Vatican upheld the parish closings, but the sale of buildings has been long delayed; after the archdiocese removed the sacred status of the churches this summer in preparation for their sale, parishioners filed new appeals in Rome, which are still pending.

Peter Borre, an advocate for parishioners at the closed churches, said their lawyer plans to file an emergency request Monday, asking Vatican officials to move urgently to reopen the church.

The archdiocese turned off the heat two years ago at St. Therese parish in Everett, but the vigil continued, said Borre. “They’ve gone through two winters with temperatures in the church freezing,” he said. “They go there wrapped in blankets.”

The archdiocese has continued to maintain the church buildings since the closures; in Wellesley alone, the maintenance costs have totaled $370,000, including repairs and winter snow plowing, during the seven-year period, according to the statement released yesterday.

Shutting down the faulty boiler in Wellesley “is the best way to preserve the building and avoid problems,” said Mark Horan, a spokesman for the archdiocese. The water supply was shut down in addition to the boiler to prevent frozen pipes in the unheated church building, which dates to 1958 and may still have its original boiler, he said.

Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley was briefed about the shutdown before it happened, said Horan; the spokesman also said there are no plans to sell the church until the appeal is resolved. The town of Wellesley has developed a detailed proposal to buy the St. James site and erect a recreation complex there.

Suzanne Hurley, a spokeswoman for the St. James occupation, said the heating system has worked fine to date, and has been relied on sparingly by parishioners, who heat the sanctuary for Sunday worship when needed, but use a single small room during the week. She said the action seemed to contradict past vows by archdiocesan leaders that they would respect the appeals process, and hold off on further action until it plays out.

“But if they’d rather see a Porta-Potty on Route 9 in front of the church, that’s fine,” she said.

Jenna Russell can be reached at jrussell@globe.com.