Historic church in holds its final Sunday Mass

By Trolly Taylor

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    BALTIMORE (WBAL) — It’s the end of an era for a prominent church in a Baltimore neighborhood. The “Shrine of the Little Flower” church in the Belair-Edison neighborhood held its final Mass Sunday afternoon.

WBAL-TV joined two people who made the trip there for one last time. The two friends made the 150-mile trek from Ocean City, where they now live, to the parish where they grew up. It’s a bond of friendship and faith that they said won’t end even after the church closes its doors.

“It’s heartbreaking,” former Belair-Edison resident Terry Moore said.

“It is very sad that it is the last Mass,” former resident Mary Callan said.

Moore and Callan now live in the same neighborhood in Ocean City, but in the 1960s, they said they spent their Sunday mornings walking together through the Belair-Edison neighborhood to the church that helped raise them.

“We walked everywhere, it was great. You always felt safe, you always felt loved, you always felt welcome here,” Callan said.

Sunday was the final Mass for the neighborhood parish, which dates back to before the Great Depression.

“This has been the foundation of my whole childhood, my faith, the friendship bonds that you made. It’s just very sad, and I think there’s going to be a lot of tears by the end of the mass,” Moore said.

The Archdiocese of Baltimore announced its “Seek the City” initiative final plan in May, merging 61 parishes into 30 worship and ministry sites across the city and nearby suburbs. The decision was attributed to deteriorating buildings, financial hardships and declining attendance.

Pastor Patrick Carrion said that at the church’s height, 4,000 people were attending weekend Mass.

“Over the years, this parish was probably one of the largest on this side of town,” Carrion said.

Now, the pastor said it’s more like 100 people on weekends. For the final Sunday Mass, Carrion put sacramental books on the altar as a reminder.

“Every person who’s been baptized here, married here, confirmed here, first communion, buried from here, I brought out those archival books,” Carrion said.

“We will always carry the Shrine of the Little Flower with us wherever we go throughout our lives,” Callan said.

While it was the last Sunday Mass for the parish, Carrion said daily weekday Masses will continue through Thanksgiving.

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