Archdiocese Announces Three Churches to Close

They are relegated to "profane but not sordid use."

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia over the weekend announced the closure of three churches in the area:

• Incarnation of Our Lord Church, in Philadelphia, whose building is said to require $263,000 of masonry work — a cost that cannot be paid by the congregation.

• Our Mother of Sorrows, in Bridgeport, is “located on the middle floor of a three story structure that is in a serious state of disrepair.”

Holy Saviour Church, in Linwood, where an estimate in 2011 suggested $152,000 would be needed for repairs over five years. Nearly five years later, the work never got started.

The three locations are being designated for “to profane but not sordid use effective July 15, 2015,” the archdiocese said in a statement. “This formal, canonical designation means that the churches will no longer serve as worship sites and will close as Roman Catholic churches.”