Southington Residents Trying To Save 162-Year-Old St. Thomas Church

By Brian M. Johnson, The Bristol Press

September 23, 2021

A group of Southington residents have gathered petition signatures trying to prevent the demolition of the 162-year-old St. Thomas Church on Bristol Street, which is scheduled to be “decommissioned” Sunday.

Talks of closing the church, located at 99 Bristol St., began a few months ago according to Mike Fasulo, one of the people opposing the demolition. The building closed on Aug. 1, with parishioners being directed to other local churches.

“The news that they wanted to decommission the church hit us about a month ago,” he said. “As we went through the process we learned that the current pastor feels it us urgent to knock it down. It needs a lot of repairs. The boiler can no longer heat the building. The stained glass windows also need some repair. The heating system leaked and it would cost a lot of money to dig up the floor in the basement which is buckling. There’s also air conditioning and duct-work.

A meeting was held with Pastor Joseph Cronin and approximately 50 parishioners who, upon learning of the problems facing the building, agreed with the pastor that it should be demolished. However, Fasulo said that he does not believe that this group accurately represented the opinion of all parishioners.

“We didn't feel that it was a fair representation of all of the parishioners,” he said. “It was presented like an informational meeting and seeking feedback and then those in attendance were allowed to vote on whether or not to fix it. We’ve tried to get a list on what all repairs entail, but the pastor said he’d received only verbal quotes. We don’t have anything to use to try to get lower quotes.”

Cronin could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Fasulo and other church members who wish to save the building brought their concerns to Cronin. But, Fasulo said, the pastor still wanted to proceed with plans to decommission the church.

“There are options that we feel are more practical and less expensive, but he wouldn’t consider it,” said Fasulo. “I feel like we can abandon the boiler and air conditioning and put in a forced hot air system.”

Another point of disagreement with Cronin was whether or not the building could survive the winter with no heat. Additionally, Fasulo said, Cronin was concerned with the possibility of vandalism.

“The threat of vandalism or fire is no greater now than it has been in past years,” said Fasulo. “The building has a security system tied into the fire department. I can’t accept that argument. The building can survive.”

Fasulo and other like-minded church members started a petition three weeks ago, gathering more than 200 signatures at the Southington Drive-In. These signatures, along with a letter, were sent to Archbishop Leonard Blair from the Archdiocese of Hartford. However, Fasulo said he has been unsuccessful in reaching Blair.

“The Archbishop has the final say, but he relies on the opinion of the pastor,” said Fasulo. “If he sees no opposition, he goes along with it. I’ve been trying for a week to get a hold of anyone from the Archbishop’s office. The goal is to get the ear of the archbishop and explain the things we feel can be changed. We're trying to put the brakes on demolition.”

St. Thomas Church is currently scheduled to be de-commissioned with a Mass service on Sunday. Fasulo said he attempted to have the building designated a historic site in order to halt demolition. However, due to the building’s entrance having been redesigned at one point, he said this would not be possible.

"Our objective was and remains to satisfy the many questions presented by parishioners regarding the reasons for the closing of our 162-year old church,” said Art Secondo, who also supports saving the church. “It hasn't been easy since the deadline has been established for Sunday to officially close down the church forever. We are extremely disappointed but remain confident that the building can be repaired to justify its continuation as Southington's oldest place of worship."

Brian M. Johnson can be reached at 860-973-1806 or bjohnson@bristolpress.com.