The campaign to save St. Brigid's Church has now moved to the highest court in the Vatican. Our attorney, Robert R. Bryan, in early August notified the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura of our appeal and recourse. Since then, Robert has been in regular contact with this court. He is in the final stages of associating and retaining an advocate in Rome, a step that is essential to our appeal.

Although St. Brigid's Church was closed by the Archbishop of San Francisco on June 30, 1994, the fight to save this House of God is far from over. Recent information Robert has received from Rome reveals that our prospect for success is now excellent.

Our attorney has already provided to the Supreme Tribunal 1,068 affidavits from parishioners detailing the unfairness of the Archbishop's decision to close St. Brigid's Church. Robert has also filed with the court 17, 855 signatures (915 pages) from people demanding that the Church remains open.

St. Brigid's Church will reopen!

St. Brigid's Church was closed by the Archdiocese at midnight on June 30, 1994. At the evening Mass, parishioners and friends of our 130-year old Parish filled the Church to capacity. Many openly wept throughout the service as they contemplated the unjust closing and suppression of the Parish.

After the Mass, Robert Bryan addressed the packed audience. His remarks on the legal update and fight to save the Church, were enthusiastically received by those attending. The congregation rose to its feet and applauded for several minutes at the mention of continuing the fight to keep St. Brigid open. The Archdiocese had called in armed police officers who were stationed around the sanctuary. When Robert mentioned that they, too, were good Catholics who did not want to see our Church closed, the officers smiled and joined in the applause.

Hundreds of parishioners remained in the Church and outside keeping a prayer vigil until midnight. Shortly before midnight, parishioners tolled the Church bell for the first time in years. A prominent bagpiper, Bob Baker, began playing Amazing Grace. Those gathered inside approached the Tabernacle one by one, knelt in silent prayer, and slowly walked out of the Church.

As the bell tolled midnight, Robert Bryan closed the doors of the main entrance to St. Brigid, with a vow to open them again when our appeal in Rome is granted. Everyone prayed to save our 130-year old Parish from destruction. A large group of parishioners, in tears, remained outside the Church for over an hour, finding it difficult to leave a building and faith community that was a spiritual mainstay in their lives. All held lit candles, prayed and sang.

A new independent study of the Church was completed in June by a highly reputable San Francisco engineering firm, under the leadership of Joe Dignan, Committee Vice Chair, and Chair of the Engineering Subcommittee. A prominent architect has also completed an evaluation of our Church. The results from both studies are wonderful, and are being sent to Rome! The cost of any retrofitting will be one tenth of that projected by the Archdiocese. Further, the Church appears not to be an unreinforced masonry building as defined by City building codes. St. Brigid would be one of the safest places to be in San Francisco, in case of a major earthquake.

The new evaluation confirms what Father Kirby Hanson, our Pastor, concluded in his January 3, 1994 appeal petition to the Archbishop: "The $5.5 million estimate for St. Brigid is undoubtedly a `worst case scenario.' It is possible as the unreinforced buildings are studied in detail . . . the cost could be markedly less." In an April 8 meeting with the Archbishop's engineer, the figure was lowered by $1.5 - $2.5 million. Now we know that even that estimate was incredibly exaggerated.

During a meeting with the Archdiocese on April 8, 1994, the offer was made that we, the parishioners, would raise any funds necessary to retrofit the Church. It would cost the Archdiocese nothing. The Archbishop rejected this, stating that allowing us to save our Church would favor a rich parish over ones that are poor. Nevertheless, Archdiocesan officials recognized that we could certainly raise the money, since the Parish is affluent.

Robert Bryan then made an alternative offer, based upon the examples of Jesus Christ to help the downtrodden: that we at St. Brigid would raise the funds necessary to save also a poor church. Bill Regalia, a longtime parishioner and leader in our Church, pointed out that he had successfully headed a drive some years ago to help a less fortunate church. The Archbishop rejected our plan to save two churches, explaining that it was too much trouble.

We repeatedly stressed to Archbishop Quinn that by fighting to save our Church and one that is poor, we are only doing what Christ would expect of us. To do any less would be wrong. We have not been deterred from our commitment to do Christ's work.

The Archdiocese of San Francisco sponsored a successful legislative drive that gives religious organizations a special exemption from local landmark laws, thereby clearing the way for the demolition of churches that might otherwise have been protected. Governor Pete Wilson recently signed the bill, sponsored by House Speaker Willie Brown. Landmarking allows local authorities to declare certain structures to be architecturally or historically significant to protect them from demolition. While these ordinances vary from municipality to municipality, in San Francisco they have been used to save such historic buildings as the Haas-Lilienthal House. Incredibly, Speaker Brown, who wrote the bill for the Archdiocese, has maintained that it is good for the religious community.

Dinner, November 18, 1994, Fort Mason Officers' Club

The Committee to Save St. Brigid's Church is sponsoring a Parish dinner at the Fort Mason Officers' Club on Friday, November 18, 1994 at 6:30 p.m. There will be a special speaker and a wonderful surprise. There will be plenty of available parking, and the view of San Francisco Bay from the Club is magnificent. Please see enclosed flyer for more details and reservation information.

Sunday Masses at Fort Mason

Many St. Brigid Parishioners now attend the 11:15 a.m. Mass at the Fort Mason Chapel. We have been warmly received, and many consider this their "home away from home" until St. Brigid's Church reopens. The chapel is not under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Some remain afterwards to visit and have brunch at the nearby Officers' Club, which is open to all. The brunch is $10.95. Everyone is invited to this Mass and brunch.

Weekly Meetings of the Committee to Save St. Brigid's Church

The Committee to Save St. Brigid's Church continues to meet each Wednesday evening at 6:30 p.m. The meetings are held at Holy Trinity Cathedral, the Russian Orthodox Church at 1520 Green Street (at Van Ness). We are composed of all who are interested in saving St. Brigid's Church, and continuing the work of Jesus Christ in the community. All are welcome.

St. Brigid Clergy

Father Cyril O'Sullivan, who was banished from San Francisco for trying to Save St. Brigid's Church, is now an Associate Pastor at St. Finn Barr's Parish. Our Pastor, Father Kirby Hanson has recovered from his recent illness and is now at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish. Father Stanley Wu is with Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Daly City.

T-shirts

Save St. Brigid T-shirts are available from the Committee. The T-shirts come in two colors - light blue and cream, and are available in small, medium, large and xlarge. The cost for one is $10 or $18 for two. For more information, please call our hotline.

Monthly Picnics

St. Brigid parishioners and supporters have a potluck picnic the last Saturday of each month at Lafayette Park, near the intersection of Laguna and Washington at 11:30 a.m. It has been a lot of fun. Children are particularly welcome. Weather permitting, the next picnic will be held Saturday, October 29, 1994.

Financial Support

The Committee to Save St. Brigid's Church is a not-for-profit organization, tax status pending, devoted to reopening and maintaining St. Brigid as a place of worship.

While the Committee has no employees and the officers serve without compensation, our expenses are substantial. The appeal to the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura in Rome, is particularly expensive. Our attorney, Robert Bryan has devoted hundreds of hours to the appeals and is not paid for his work; but he must immediately associate and hire an advocate in Rome. Additionally, we continue to incur ongoing expenses regularly for such things as printing, copying, mailings, express deliveries to Rome, international telephone calls and faxes, etc.

Our expenses are met only by ongoing donations from our supporters. Your help, in any amount, will be greatly appreciated and make this effort successful. Checks should be made payable to: Committee to Save St. Brigid's Church, and mailed to P. O. Box 641318, San Francisco, CA 94164-1318.

Survey

We are interested in finding out how the closure of St. Brigid's Church has affected you. Are you currently registered at another parish? If yes, which one? Which Mass are you currently attending? Has your daily or Sunday worship been disrupted in any way? We will publish the results of this survey in an upcoming Newsletter.

Loss of Loved Ones

Mr. Charles Sullivan and Mr. Albert J. Steiss, 88, two active members of our Parish, recently died. Lena Orero, the mother-in law of Tom Curtin, our Parliamentarian, also passed away on September 30, 1994. She was first christened 105 years ago at Sts. Peter and Paul's Church, and was a faithful parishioner of St. Brigid. We ask that you remember them in your prayers, as well as other sick or deceased members of our Parish.

Thank you for joining us in the campaign to save St. Brigid's Church. Everything we do is based upon a commitment to continue doing the work of Jesus Christ and the Roman Catholic Church in this community. Please share this newsletter with your friends and family.

We also wish to thank Denise Nicco and Joe Dignan for their assistance in preparing this newsletter.

BSJ
Secretary