St. Stephen’s closes, St. Francis Xavier’s accepts new parishioners

St. Francis Xavier’s pastor of 22 years Monsignor Lavalley has welcomed new parishioners with open arms. Photo by Jenny Koppang.

A shortage of priests brought about the closure of St. Stephen Catholic Church in Winooski in early July, but just a few blocks away the parish of St. Francis Xavier has rallied to accommodate this great loss. 

“We’ve just opened our arms,” said Monsignor Richard Levalley, who has been the pastor of the St. Francis Xavier parish for 22 years. 

St. Stephen’s celebrated their last mass on Sunday, July 28 and closed officially on July 1. The parish went under when their pastor, Father Stephen Hornat, was called to Alabama with the Edmundite Order and the diocese couldn’t muster up another priest to send. 

The two parish councils convened together and St. Francis Xavier invited the members of St. Stephen’s council to carry on any positions or roles they previously held there.

“At their request, we are also taking four statues from their church and bringing it to our church.” said Levalley. “We want them to feel at home as much as possible.” 

Winooski resident Peggy Lesage, a member of St. Stephen’s parish for 33 years, said that the presence of the statues have been tokens of familiarity throughout the transition.

“Having some of the things we were used to touching and seeing at St. Stephen’s makes it seem more comfortable and less foreign.” Lesage said. 

As an actively involved member of St. Stephen’s parish for much of her adult life, Lesage found that the closure of the church left a yawning hole in her life.  

“Any change is difficult, but when it involves your spiritual life and the life that you’ve built in a community of people who worship in the same way you do, it makes it a little tougher,” Lesage said. 

Lesage, a musician and a singer, previously held the position of choir director at St. Stephens. She sought out similar involvement with the choir director at St. Francis Xavier and will now be lending her talents every other Saturday evening liturgy. 

“I don’t think anyone can absorb someone’s grief, but St. Francis Xavier has been very compassionate and welcoming and they’ve done what they could to make us feel at home,” Lesage said. 

Norma Audette, a Winooski resident, has been a member of the St. Stephen’s parish for 80 years—her whole life. She was baptized, confirmed, and married within those walls and raised her three children to do the same. 

Audette’s voice wavered as she described the heartbreaking upheaval of her home.

“I go by that church now and I know that I can’t go in anymore. Tears just well up in my eyes.” Audette said. 

Audette was a member of the parish council at St. Stephen’s since 2006 and served as a Eucharistic Minister for years. 

“Monsignor Levalley has welcomed us and indicated that those of us who were Eucharistic Ministers at St. Stephen’s can continue to participate here,” Audette said.

Audette and Lesage are two of about 20 parishioners who have come from St. Stephen’s to find solace at St. Francis Xavier. According to Audette, many of her older peers did not transition with her on account of the inconvenient parking and challenging stairs. 

Monsignor Levalley acknowledged that the Catholic Church is experiencing a difficult period in terms of numbers of priests and mass attendance, but asserted that they have always endured rough times. 
“I don’t get discouraged by it,” he said, “If there's no hope and there’s no joy in the Church then there’s something wrong.”