2250 Franklin St.
San Francisco, CA 94109-2496
Most Reverend John R. Quinn
Archbishop of San Francisco
445 Church St.
San Francisco, CA 94114
Dear Archbishop Quinn:
We, the administration, faculty and staff of St. Brigid School would like to share with you our sadness and our concerns on the closing of our Church. The news that St. Brigid Church was one of the churches that has been chosen to be closed came to us as a shock. We feel terribly sad about the consequences that this will have on our school. Is this telling us that the school may be closed in two or three years?
The reasons that were given to us were: UMB problem, viability, demographics, and a shortage of priests in the Diocese. We would like to comment briefly on each one.
First, looking at the history of St. Brigid Church, we found out that the building had stood two major earthquakes. We have pictures from the 1906 earthquake where most of the buildings on Van Ness Ave. were destroyed and the church was standing. It is true that it was partially destroyed as a consequence of a fire, not because of the earthquake. During the 1989 earthquake our church did not suffer any damage. We understand that the estimate for retrofitting the building is very high (5.5 million dollars), but shouldn't the parish have an opportunity to evaluate it again, and could we consider if funds can be raised without being a drain on the Archdiocese?
Second, St. Brigid Church is a very viable parish in our eyes. We are a community of 1,200 families with an average of 1,000 people worshipping on any given weekend. It is true that St. Brigid parish has been passive in the past, but in the last five years there are visible and evident signs of new life infused, and it is becoming a vibrant Parish. This is a credit to Father Hanson and Father O'Sullivan.
In addition to the already existing organizations and programs such as Our Lady's Sodality, Altar Society, Forty Plus, ICF Branch 243 (the largest branch in the Diocese), Bible study group and Marriage Encounter, four years ago we began having social gatherings to create a sense of a family. The Young Adults and the Soccer Team were formed. This was a group to stimulate the return to church of the young generation. Father O'Sullivan has worked very hard to make these programs a success. Three years ago the RCIA Program was started as well as Eucharistic Ministers, and lectors. From the RCIA Program a total of 34 people converted to Catholicism. last year the St. Vincent de Paul Society was established as a new social outreach to the poor. A very dedicated group of parishioners are actively involved preparing 400 - 600 sandwiches monthly, having food and clothing drives, providing transportation for medical appointments and giving cash donations to help in any way. This year we started to have school Masses with the intention of having regular children's Masses in the future. It is very hard to understand how the committee could say that St. Brigid Church is not a viable parish.
Third, the change in demographics and the decline in Mass attendance is not unique at St. Brigid Church. According to the study done by the Diocese, St. Brigid Church Mass attendance declined at the same rate as the other parishes. The demographics are constantly changing. A few years ago St. Brigid Parish was made up mostly of elderly people. Now, we witness an increase of young families in all Masses. If you visit our school you can observe in grades K, 1, and 2 the change in ethnicity from being predominantly Chinese to being much more diversified. The number of Catholics has increased from an average of 11 per class to an average of 22. And the number of children coming from this area is increasing as well. We expect this trend to continue since flats and condominiums have been built in our vicinity and more are underway.
Fourth, we understand the shortage of vocations, but we also know other dioceses that have many parishes with only one priest. We do not need to have three Masses on weekdays and seven Masses on weekends. We can go along with fewer Masses and fewer priests and start a program to prepare lay people to take a more active and responsible part in the life of the local church.
We, at St. Brigid, have a very special concern: our school. We feel that the closing of the parish will seriously weaken part of the spiritual structure of the Catholic school. Are we going to have school Masses? Where ? The largest room we have is the auditorium and only two classes can be accommodated. How can we transport 320 children every time we need to go to Mass ? Will the children be able to receive the sacrament of Reconciliation ? Communion ? We are full of questions.
If we cannot use the church, we assume we can not use the gymnasium located under the church either. What is going to happen to our sports and P. E. Programs ? Our school yard is not big enough to run a quality Sport Program. When the whole school is at recess we forbid them to run because it is too crowded and too dangerous.
Our school has a reputation of being one of the best in the Diocese. That is the reason we are always full to capacity and have a long waiting list. We are very happy and proud we can keep the tuition fairly low to make good Christian education available to low income families that otherwise could not afford it. Now without the church support and extra expenses incurred by having to rent a gymnasium, we might have to raise the tuition and deny a quality Catholic education to many children.
The dominant feeling among the people of the school and the parish is that the process followed for the closing of the churches was seriously lacking in opportunities for participation and collaboration. That is why people are hurt and confused.
May we suggest that, since we have a nine year period to retrofit the church, you give us five or six years on a trial basis to accomplish the standards you set for us. We can have fewer than three priests if there are not enough. If at the end of the six years we could not keep up to the guidelines set for a viable church and we are not able to raise the money on our own, then we would accept the closure. We are sure the people will not be hurt and will understand because they were given the opportunity to work for it and because they themselves were part of the process. Not to give a chance to people is demoralizing, and will turn them away from the Church. This letter was sent to Your Excellency on December 8. After three weeks of much thought and prayer we feel urged to respectfully re-submit it as our formal petition to you to reconsider the decision of the suppression of St. Brigid Church.
We really appreciate the time you took to read our letter, and the reconsideration of our needs and concerns.
May God bless you and grant you wisdom to lead the Church of San Francisco at these difficult times. We keep you and your needs in our daily prayers.
Sincerely in Christ,
Principal & Faculty of St. Brigid's School
HOMEPAGE