St. Mary’s Friends has announced that the appeal made to the Vatican for St. Mary’s Church to remain as an independent parish has been successful. The Holy See has revoked the decree issued last year by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, which had eliminated Immaculate Conception Parish in Yonkers.
The decree, issued by Cardinal Dolan on May 31, 2024, merged Immaculate Conception Parish (known as “St. Mary’s”) with the parish of St. Peter-St. Denis in an “extinctive union,” meaning that following the merger only one parish containing three churches existed. The revocation of this decree returns things to the way they were prior to the merger.
After Cardinal Dolan’s decree was issued, three St. Mary’s parishioners filed an appeal with Cardinal Dolan on June 8, 2024, arguing that St. Mary’s should remain an independent parish. After Cardinal Dolan rejected this appeal, these parishioners made a higher appeal to the “Dicastery for the Clergy of the Holy See,” a department of the Vatican which hears appeals against the elimination of parishes and the permanent closure of churches. Those who made the appeal recently learned of its success—Cardinal Dolan’s decree was revoked.
This is the first time in the history of the New York State Archdiocese that a decree was revoked by the Vatican. The decision also marks only the ninth time in modern Catholic history when a decree eliminating a parish has been revoked by the Holy See.
In its decision, the Dicastery for the Clergy found Cardinal Dolan lacked a sufficient canonically “just” cause to warrant the merging of Immaculate Conception Parish with the Parish of St. Peter-St. Denis. While Cardinal Dolan had argued in his decree that the COVID 19 pandemic had reduced attendance at Immaculate Conception Parish, the Dicastery for the Clergy found in the year immediately prior to the parish’s closure there had been a 76% increase in attendance.
Cardinal Dolan’s decree also resulted in the elimination of Spanish language masses, leaving only one bilingual mass. In actuality there was an increase of Spanish-speaking Catholics in the parish, who sought to attend mass. Spanish-speaking parishioners were forced to attend St. Peter’s Church, but many were turned away due to overcrowded attendance and parking conditions. These factors weighed heavily in the Dicastery’s decision to revoke Cardinal Dolan’s decree.
St. Mary’s Church (Parish of the Immaculate Conception Parish), was founded in Yonkers in 1848 as the first Catholic parish in the city. Mass is presently celebrated in St. Mary’s Church for English-speaking and Arabic-speaking Catholics. Spanish-speaking parishioners are hopeful that masses in Spanish will soon resume. St. Mary’s Parishioners are eager to work with Cardinal Dolan and the Archdiocese of New York to ensure that the parish can spiritually nourish all of its parishioners for years to come.
About St. Mary’s Friends (Church of the Immaculate Conception), Yonkers, New York St. Mary’s Friends is a non-profit organization, formed in the State of New York. St. Mary’s Church (Church of the Immaculate Conception) is located in Yonkers, New York, and was founded in 1848. The Church is the oldest Roman Catholic Parish in the City of Yonkers and is known as the “Cathedral of the Hudson River Valley.” For more information, please see www.StMarysFriends.org.