Diocesan News

St. Teresa of Avila May Face Possible Closure

April 18, 2025
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As the community around it has undergone changes over the years, parishioners say St. Teresa of Avila has remained a steady presence. (Photo: Paula Katinas)

PROSPECT HEIGHTS — St. Teresa of Avila Church, which was established in 1874, may have to close its doors, officials from the Diocese of Brooklyn told parishioners at a town hall on April 8.

The church is endangered by a combination of factors, including dwindling Mass at- tendance, high repair costs, and a shortage of priests, officials said. “We have to deal with the reality as it exists today,” Msgr. Joseph Grimaldi, the vicar general for the diocese, told a crowd of about 50 parishioners, also noting that Bishop Robert Brennan has not made a final decision on the church’s fate.

The purpose of the town hall was to inform parishioners of the situation “so that we’re all on the same page,” said Father Christopher Heanue, rector of the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph and pastor of St. Teresa of Avila. Chief among the issues the church faces is low attendance.

According to the diocese, Sunday Masses — at 9:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. — on average draw a combined total of 163 people. The church holds Masses once a month in Spanish and Creole, with the Spanish Mass drawing an average of 86 people and the Creole Mass 61.

St. Teresa of Avila was merged with the co-cathedral in 2018 to form one parish. The co-cathedral’s average attendance for Sunday Masses is 478, according to the diocese. St. Teresa of Avila has seen a decline in the number of sacraments over the years, as well, according to the diocese. In 2018, 39 baptisms took place. In 2024, there were eight.

The church needs major repairs, said Robert Dadona, director of capital projects for the diocese, which could cost around $6.9 million.The church’s roof, 40-foot-high ceiling, facade, and stucco need repair, as do the stained glass windows, which are also damaged. Protective netting had to be put up to prevent plaster from falling from the ceiling.

Msgr. Grimaldi assured parishioners that St. Teresa of Avila is not being targeted. “We are going through this throughout thediocese,” he said. Another factor is the shortage of priests. According to the diocese, there were 254 active priests serving 175 parishes as of June 30, 2023.

However, over half of those priests — 157 —are non-incarnated, meaning they don’t belong to the diocese and could eventually be called back to their home dioceses.