St. Mary's Chapel, a small church regarded as the last embodiment of the first Roman Catholic parish in the North End, has been saved from closure.
Mayor Thomas Menino yesterday said that the Boston Redevelopment Authority and the owners of the Casa Maria Apartments building in which the chapel has been located for the last 30 years reached an agreement that would ensure that the 120-seat chapel remains in the apartment complex.
Dot Joyce, a spokeswoman for Menino, said the mayor had received a petition from parishioners and directed the BRA to get involved in saving the chapel after reading about its impending closure in Monday's Globe.
When St. Mary's Church was razed in 1977 to make way for the apartments, parishioners were promised that there would always be a chapel in the building. But that promise was not in writing, and parishioners were heartbroken when they learned last month that the chapel would be closed and converted to a function room.
Under the agreement, The Community Builders, the nonprofit agency that runs Casa Maria Apartments, will be allowed to use a small portion of the space where the chapel is located to add a new kitchen and community room for the residents of the 85-unit building, Joyce said. But the chapel, its altar, and stained-glass windows will remain in place, and Community Builders agreed to upgrade the chapel's lighting and add a fresh coat of paint, Joyce said.
St. Mary's Church was built in 1872, but the parish dates to the 1830s. The Saturday afternoon Mass at the chapel regularly attracts a full house.
Susan Masse, a lifelong parishioner who had circulated a petition to save St. Mary's, said she was overjoyed by the news.
"This is a wonderful early Christmas present," said Masse.
KEVIN CULLEN
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