The Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced Nov. 16 that in early 2026, a church that is over a century old will be relegated for secular use, with limits, citing impossible maintenance fees and a lack of pastoral care.
The archdiocese stated in a news release that Archbishop Nelson Pérez has approved the relegation of St. Hedwig Church in Chester, Pennsylvania, to “profane but not sordid use” in accordance with canon law. According to the Archdiocese of Boston, profane use means “a secular use, but one that is not unbecoming, immoral, or offensive to Catholics.”
The release explains that “This formal, canonical designation means that the building will close and no longer be designated as a Roman Catholic church.”
The official relegation decree states that St. Hedwig, which was founded in 1902, was attached to Sacred Heart Parish in 1993 but still served as a place of worship. Pastors from Sacred Heart ministered to the parishioners of St. Hedwig, but the situation was complicated when Sacred Heart was given another parish to care for in 2016.
Meanwhile, the number of regular parishioners at St. Hedwig steadily declined, and their donations became insufficient to cover the upkeep of the church. After the boiler failed in 2023 and a replacement was quoted at over $60,000, Sunday Mass was halted at the church.
Around the same time, the pastor of Sacred Heart petitioned the archbishop to relegate St. Hedwig to profane but not sordid use, a decision that members of Sacred Heart’s finance and pastoral councils also supported.
Sacred Heart is also financially struggling, so selling the property of St. Hedwig will help the parish balance its budget and adequately care for its parishioners’ needs.
According to the archdiocese, the pastor of Sacred Heart and the parish councils will determine the use of the building.
The post Philadelphia archdiocese announces relegation of over 100-year-old church for secular use appeared first on CatholicVote org.