PORTLAND, Pa. - One hundred years after the first Roman Catholic Mass was celebrated in the borough, the Diocese of Allentown is closing the Chapel of St. Vincent de Paul.
The chapel at 720 Delaware Ave. in Portland is operated by Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Bangor.
- A shortage of priests is prompting changes in the Diocese of Allentown
- Two parishes in the Slate Belt — Bangor and Roseto — will merge
- The churches will remain open but a chapel in Portland will close
The move is part of a merger of the parishes of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Bangor and Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Roseto, though both of those churches will remain open and retain their names, diocesan officials announced Sunday.
Parishioners learned of the changes during Masses this weekend and they become effective on Jan. 31, according to a news release from the Diocese of Allentown.
Church officials say the changes are necessary because of fewer priests in the diocese.
Previously, two priests served the Slate Belt region and led services at three different locations. Now only one priest is assigned to the region, the diocese said.
"...Because of retirements and other normal attrition, there are fewer priests available than previously."Monsignor David James, Diocese of Allentown vicar general
“Young men are entering the seminary and being ordained priests,” said Monsignor David James, the diocese’s vicar general. “But because of retirements and other normal attrition, there are fewer priests available than previously.
“With only one priest, it is just not possible for him to cover all of the required duties, including weekly Masses, confessions, and other sacraments, at three different locations.”
According to the website for Our Lady of Good Counsel, the Chapel of St. Vincent de Paul had two Masses per week — 6 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday. Masses at Our Lady of Good Counsel are celebrated at 4 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. Sunday, as well as 8:15 a.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, the website says.
According to the parish website, the first Mass was celebrated in Portland in 1923. Our Lady of Good Counsel saw the need to branch out to Portland because parish members were walking more than 10 miles from Portland to attend church services in Bangor.
The parish was founded early in the 20th century to cater to the many English-speaking miners in the Slate Belt region, the website says.
