AUGUSTA — St. Andrew’s Church in Augusta and St. Leo’s Church in Litchfield will be put up for sale.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland has approved a plan from St. Michael Parish to sell the two properties, the Rev. Francis Morin said.
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Morin, who is administrator of St. Michael Parish, which includes those two churches and five others, said Bishop Richard Malone will celebrate the final Masses at each church.
* At St. Leo’s Church, Route 126, the final Mass will take place at 4 p.m. Oct. 22.
* At St. Andrew’s Church, St. Andrew Street, the final Mass will take place at 8 a.m. Oct. 23.
“It is the overall cost of running a parish of seven churches, and approximately 4,500 households,” Morin said in July when the proposal was first submitted to the diocese. “The income stayed somewhat stagnant over the past two years.”
He said then that the parish was looking for a decision before the next heating season. The spike in heating costs proved particularly challenging in the past year.
This is the third year in a row in which the parish has ended the year in the red despite parishioners’ generosity, he said. The $140,000 deficit in the fiscal year that ended July 1 was partially offset by a $60,000 bequest received several months ago, Morin said.
The former rectory at St. Joseph’s Church in Gardiner is also for sale.
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