‘Mass Mob’ Fills a Manhattan Church With Hopes of Saving It

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Vivian Yee

Ronalde Marie on Sunday at Our Lady of Peace on the Upper East Side, which is scheduled to merge with another parish. Credit Damon Winter/The New York Times

NEW YORK---The priest looked out Sunday afternoon on a rare sight: Every pew in his church was packed, the crowd so thick that some had to stand. They had come to show support for his church, Our Lady of Peace on the Upper East Side, one of 112 parishes the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York plans to close or merge as church attendance wanes and finances weaken. The sizable attendance was a moment that called for thanks, and perhaps, the priest said, for acceptance. [link]