In an emotional homily during the closing Mass for St. Therese of Lisieux Church, July 26, Father Philip Erickson, pastor, urged his parishioners to carry on the mission to make Christ known to the world.
“Your mission does not end when we take leave of this brick and mortar. You remain the church, a visible sign of God’s love,” he said. “You are still called to foster and maintain that love of other, love of God and love of neighbor.”
He spoke to a packed congregation, which included current and past parishioners and members of the Ursuline Sisters of Louisville — the congregation staffed the parish’s school in the early 1900s.
Father Erickson told parishioners that as they continued their faith journey at other parishes, they should turn to St. Therese for guidance. “You are to seek out the means to get to heaven,” by adopting St. Therese’s Little Way. The 17th-century French Carmelite, he noted, did “ordinary things with extraordinary love.”
During his final words to his listeners, Father Erickson said it’s difficult to measure a parish’s success. He said such measures as how much money is placed into the collection basket on Sunday aren’t how success is measured.
“Your mission does not end when we take leave of this brick and mortar. You remain the church, a visible sign of God’s love. You are still called to foster and maintain that love of other, love of God and love of neighbor.”
— Father Philip Erickson
“How you measure the success of a parish is when you get to heaven, your fellow parishioner is there,” he said.
Among those who attended the Mass was 90-year-old Gilbert Zinner. Zinner, now in a long-term care facility, fondly recalled his early days at the parish. He lived on Kentucky Street and walked to 5 a.m. Mass at St. Therese, on the corner of Schiller Avenue and East Kentucky Street, he said.
He became an altar server in 1945 when he was in the fifth grade. Easter and Christmas at St. Therese were special, he recalled.
“I served many Christmas Masses. That was really special. Christmas was unbelievable. It was something to behold,” he said in an interview. Mass was celebrated by three priests and assisted by 20 altar servers. Candles in the windows and wreaths made the church look “like a work of art” during the Christmas season, he said.
Zinner said the parish’s closing saddens him. Upon hearing of the impending closing, he started recalling the important events celebrated at the parish — such as his parents’ Funeral Masses and his brother’s military Funeral Mass — he said. “I’m really sad. It feels like I’m losing a relative,” he said.
Bob Schroeder, a lifelong parishioner, cantored at the Mass, wrapping up 25 years of music ministry to the parish.
Among the highlights of his years at St. Therese is his wedding, he said. He married his wife, Carla, at the parish in August of 1976, he said. They were both active in the parish, he on the finance committee and she as the parish’s custodian for 20 years, he said. Parishioners were always generous with their time, he noted.
“My overriding memory is how much fellow parishioners gave of their time,” said Schroeder, noting it fostered camaraderie.
Schroeder said he’s saddened but “resigned” at the parish’s closing. “It was inevitable. With membership getting as low as it’s gotten, I don’t think there’s anything else that we could have done,” he said in an interview.
Father Erickson echoed that sentiment.
In an interview days before the closing Mass, he reflected on the parish’s closing, noting that only about 70 parishioners regularly attended Mass. Though those parishioners love St. Therese, they couldn’t maintain the historic parish, he said. Father Erickson and the parish’s lay leadership agreed the parish should close, he said.
Parishioners were officially notified of the closing in June and Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre celebrated Mass with the congregation on July 12.
The parish was established in 1906 as a spiritual home for German-Americans, according to historical information from the Archdiocese of Louisville. The church, constructed in the Spanish Baroque style of architecture, is on the National Register of Historic Places, said Father Erickson.
“St. Therese was a grand parish in its day,” and served its parishioners well, he said.
St. Therese has in recent years been part of a cluster of churches — including St. Elizabeth of Hungary and Our Mother of Sorrows churches — known as the Pax Christi Collaborative. Father Erickson is pastor of St. Elizabeth and Our Mother of Sorrows churches. Though the collaborative is losing one member, Father Erickson said its work will go on.
Among Pax Christi’s ministries are Grace Ministries, which feeds and assists the needy, and St. Anne House, a collaboration with Catholic Charities of Louisville that provides apartments for survivors of human trafficking, said Father Erickson.
