Church in Talks Over Cell Tower at Braintree Parish

The Archdiocese of Boston is considering placing a cellular tower at Saint Clare Parish on Liberty Street in Braintree.

Church officials recently received an inquiry from a cell tower vendor, Archdiocese spokesman Terrence Donilon said in an email Monday. Donilon declined to name the vendor, saying that the discussion is "very preliminary at this point."

Donilon said it would not be unusual to place a cell tower at Saint Clare's, as the Catholic Church has 15-20 tower leases at parishes throughout the Boston Archdiocese.

Rev. Paul S. Sughrue referred questions to the Archdiocese.

In the Sept. 29 issue of Saint Clare's bulletin, a note about the Parish Finance Council meeting of Sept. 18 said that a cell tower lease with AT&T is being negotiated with the Archdiocese.

It is still early in the process, Donilon said, but church officials will reach out to neighbors when appropriate.

"We need to see what they are looking to do but we make sure to take the community into consideration," Donilon said. "It's a lot more prevalent that folks realize with churches of different faiths and business."

Last week, the Archdiocese announced that Saint Clare Parish would collaborate with another Braintree church, St. Francis of Assisi, as part of a larger effort to pool resources as the Archdiocese faces diminished attendance and fundraising difficulties.