Parishes vie for sacred objects from
closed churches
Robert Delaney of The Michigan Catholic
Published September 29, 2006
Detroit For anyone who has ever wondered what happens to the statues, sacred vessels and other such items from closed churches, the answer is the archdiocese makes them available to other parishes.
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One of the many chalices from closed churches available to parishes through the archdiocesan Office of Worship. | "This is part of the patrimony of the diocese. After we get everything catalogued, other parishes in the vicariate have three weeks during which they get the first choice of what's available," explains Daniel McAfee, director of the archdiocesan Worship Office.
Vicariates are the 16 geographical groupings in which all parishes and missions of the archdiocese are arranged.
Items that are not spoken for during that initial period are then made available to parishes throughout the archdiocese. "We're into that second three-week period now," says McAfee regarding items from the recently closed Detroit parishes of Guardian Angels, Martyrs of Uganda, St. Anthony and St. Brendan.
 Sacred items
Some of the most interesting or unusual items from closed churches, says Daniel McAfee, director of the archdiocesan Worship Office, are:
The 13-foot marble crucifix from Guardian Angels, Detrtoit.
All the other statues from Guardian Angels, Detroit, made from different colors of marble.
A "mystery saint" statue from St. Brendan, Detroit.
A large sanctuary lamp holder from Martyrs of Uganda Church, Detroit.
Four monstrances (all missing their lunas the part that holds the host).
| "After that, if anything is left over we look to the missions," Mc Afee says, adding that none of the items will be sold to the general public.
Parishes are able to obtain a password allowing them access to an Internet site that displays photographs of the various items available.
"Most of the chalices and ciboria just need a good polishing, but even if they need replating, you can get that done for from $150 to $300 much less than it would cost to buy one of these," McAfee says.
If more than one parish puts in a request for an item, the Worship Department has a committee that will consider the situation and decide which parish will get it, he continues.
The various items are made available free of charge, but any costs involved in moving them have to be borne by the recipient. That could be significant in some cases, McAfee says, as with the approximately 13-foot marble crucifix set into the front of the sanctuary in Guardian Angels Church. He says one parish is investigating those costs already.
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Statue of the Blessed Virgin in different colors of marble from the closed Guardian Angels Church in northeast Detroit. | "The objects at Guardian Angels Church are beautiful and of very high quality. Some of the statues would probably cost $20,000 to $30,000 if they were to be purchased today," McAfee continues.
And the tabernacle from Guardian Angels is the most requested item to date, with about three dozen parishes having asked for it. "It's going to be a challenge deciding which parish should get that," he says.
Being involved with the project of finding new homes for the objects from closed churches has been a fascinating experience for McAfee. "It's really interesting to see what all has been important to the faith life of a community," he says.
Large wooden crucifix from the closed St. Brendan Church in northeast Detroit is among the items available. | "It's a little bit like doing archeology," McAfee says. "At St. Brendan's we thought we had everything catalogued, then someone noticed a trapdoor in the ceiling. When we opened it, a ladder came down, and we found a whole room up there full of all kinds of candlesticks and other things that had been stored up there."
Some of the items that parishes have kept have probably had sentimental value, but are of little use to anyone else. "Some old vestments, for example, are worn beyond repair and can't be saved," McAfee says.
What about the relics that were place in the altars of the closed churches? They have been removed and sent to the archdiocesan Archives Office, McAfee says.
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