The Friends of Mater Dolorosa have been holding a prayer vigil in the church in protest of its closing by the Springfield Diocese. Watch video
Mater Dolorosa ChurchHOLYOKE – An engineer hired by Friends of Mater Dolorosa on Wednesday contradicted the diocesan report about serious structural concerns in the church steeple and said it could be fixed for less than $1,000.
“The steeple is not going to fall down,” said Neal B. Mitchell, president of Neal Mitchell Associates of Northbridge and a registered structural engineer.
The Friends of Mater Dolorosa, who have been have been holding a continuous vigil in the church since June 30 in protest of the closing of Mater Dolorosa, hired Mitchell after Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield Bishop Timothy A. McDonnell said the structural problems to the steeple is one reason the church was chosen to be closed.
Mater Dolorosa merged with Holy Cross to create a new parish, Our Lady of the Cross. It is located in the former Holy Cross church.
Engineers for Engineering Design Associates Inc., which was hired by the diocese to examine the church, said the steeple could be dangerous at high winds.
“It is only a matter of time before there is either a partial or complete failure of the wooded framed steeple structure. Even a partial collapse would not only jeopardize the occupants and their immediate surrounds but could possibly cause a ‘domino’ effect threatening a much larger area,” the report said.
Mitchell was selected by the Friends because he has experience with inspecting and designing churches. His fee was “under $1,000,” said Peter J. Stasz, a lawyer and one of the parishioners trying to save the church.
While Mitchell agreed the metal tension rods are loose and there is a crack in a wood beam, he disagreed with conclusions made by Engineering Design Associates Inc. engineers.
“It belies common sense that it is going to fall,” he said.
He said there are three ways the steeple has been reinforced.
“This is so over-designed it hurts. It is the way people built them back then,” Mitchell said. “This should not come down.” The church was built at the turn of the 20th century.
Mitchell said metal plates could be screwed to the cracked beam to reinforce it and the tension rods could be easily tightened, saying those two repairs would cost between $300 and $500. More work should be done to repoint the bricks, and pigeon guano must be cleaned from the bell tower in the steeple, he said.
According to his report the total cost of making the repairs would be about $25,000. The Engineering Design Associates report put the cost at about $119,000.
He said engineers sometimes give conflicting opinions. He said the company may be siding with the diocese because it has an ongoing contract with them.
Diocesan officials said they trust their original report and are continuing efforts to remove the steeple.
“There is no comparison between the two. He (Mitchell) is telling people what they want to hear rather than what they need to hear,” said Mark E. Dupont, diocesan spokesman.
The diocese engineers used a lift to examine the steeple roof from the outside as well as examining it from the inside. Mitchell did not inspect it from the outside, he said.
The diocese never said the steeple cannot be repaired but said it was expensive, he said.
“The diocese completely stands by the analysis conducted by Engineering Design Associates, which clearly is a far more thorough and robust report than what was presented today. It is insulting to the common person’s intelligence to think the scope of the work could be as low as was suggested,” Dupont said.
Victor Anop, one of the vigil organizers, said protesters will continue the vigil and are planning a vigil at the bishop’s residence on Elliot Street in Springfield at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Neil Mitchell Associates Structural Inspection of Mater Dolorosa Church in Holyoke
Structural Conditions Assessment Report of the Mater Dolorosa Parish Church