nashuatelegraph.com
Jan. 14, 2005

Judge allows purchase of St. Francis Xavier to continue

By ALBERT McKEON, Telegraph Staff
mckeona@telegraph-nh.com

Published: Thursday, Jan. 13, 2005

ENLARGE PHOTO
Staff file photo by Don Himsel
A judge has rejected parishioners’ bid to halt the sale of St. Francis
Xavier, shown here in 2002. Order this photo
ST. FRANCIS XAVIER’S HISTORY
This is a timeline of recent events involving St. Francis Xavier Church.
SEPTEMBER 2002 – St. Stanislaus and St. Casimir churches close. St.
Stanislaus merges with St. Louis de Gonzague Church, and St. Casimir merges
with St. Patrick Church. St. Francis Xavier Church parishioners succeed in
delaying the closure of their church.
DECEMBER 2002 – St. Francis Xavier Church Foundation forms, aiming to
preserve the religious aspects and architectural value of the building.
MARCH 2003 – St. Francis Xavier Church closes, and the parish merges with
St. Louis de Gonzague.
FEBRUARY 2004 – Diocese of Manchester puts St. Francis Xavier on the market.
St. Francis Xavier Church Foundation offers to buy the property from the
diocese for an undisclosed amount after a fund-raising drive. Diocese does
not comment on offer.
MAY 2004 – Diocese announces it has entered into a 90-day, purchase-and-sale
agreement for $1 million with a representative of the Armenian Orthodox
Church.
NOVEMBER 2004 – Hillsborough County Probate Court rules the diocese will not
violate intent of an 1885 deed if the property is sold to another religious
institution. The deed’s terms protect the donation of the land by an old
manufacturing company.
JAN. 12, 2005 – A civil lawsuit filed by former parishioners and the St.
Francis Xavier Foundation is dismissed. The judge rules that parishioners
cannot prove the diocese will violate the deed. The court also cites First
Amendment protections for the diocese, and does not rule on the
parishioners’ complaint that the closure process was unfair.

NASHUA – The Diocese of Manchester has cleared another legal hurdle in its
move to sell the century-old St. Francis Xavier Church to the Armenian
Orthodox Church.

A judge dismissed a civil suit filed by former parishioners and
architectural preservationists, ending another battle over the French Hill
church’s closure. A probate court has already upheld the potential $1
million sale, and the transaction apparently needs only the final approval
of the Armenian Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

`The faithful parishioners of St. Francis Xavier are disappointed the
diocese has defaulted in its commitment to French Hill,’ said attorney
Randall Wilbert, who represents the protesting group of parishioners and
preservationists. Wilbert said he does not know if the group intends to file
an appeal.

Hillsborough County Superior Court Judge William Groff handed down the
ruling last Friday, and it was publicly released Wednesday.

A linchpin of the case was a 119-year-old deed granted by The Jackson Co., a
textile manufacturer that donated the hilltop land on which the building
sits. A deed stipulation is the land must always hold a place of religious
observance.

In November, a Hillsborough County Probate Court judge ruled that the
proposed sale follows the precepts of the deed. Groff recognized that
ruling.He did grant the former parishioners legal standing on any deed
challenge because they are beneficiaries of the statutory trust in which the
presiding Catholic bishop oversees St. Francis Xavier property.

But Groff found no evidence that Bishop John McCormack, as the trustee,
would use sale proceeds for any other purpose than the benefit of these
former parishioners. Any contrary claim is `hypothetical’ and the suit
failed to establish `a present controversy, definite and concrete,’ Groff
wrote in his dismissal.

St. Francis Xavier merged with St. Louis de Gonzague Church in 2003, so the
proceeds should be earmarked for the West Hollis Street parish. The diocese,
through attorney Ovide Lamontagne, repeated Wednesday that the merged church
would receive any sale profits.

`Today’s decision provides stability and clarity to a very painful process
for the people in Nashua,’ Lamontagne said. `But I know for Bishop
McCormack, as difficult as it is to take these actions in these communities
and parishes, he’s responsible to answering to the task force and (in) his
responsibility as a trustee.’

The task force referred to by Lamontagne oversaw the closing of three
downtown Catholic churches. A group of parishioners and clergy recommended
closing St. Francis Xavier, St. Casimir and St. Stanislaus churches, and
McCormack approved the decision.

But many parishioners of those now-defunct churches complained the task
force was an empty vehicle, and that church hierarchy had predetermined the
parishes for closure. St. Francis Xavier parishioners protested the loudest,
and delayed the shutting of their parish. But many have since moved on,
either to St. Louis de Gonzague or other churches.

The small group of former parishioners who have kept fighting had pinned
great hopes on the civil suit. They want to block the sale, and sought the
court’s opinion on the closure and merger process.

Groff, though, stayed clear of the work of the diocese and task force. He
cited the diocese’s First Amendment right to free exercise of religion. The
parishioners had claimed their rights were suppressed in the process, but
Groff found `the Court would clearly be required to become entangled in
church doctrine or ecclesiastical law, over which the secular laws has no
authority,’ the dismissal said.

The Diocese of Manchester has a $1 million purchase-and-sale agreement with
local real estate developer Vatche Manoukian, who has said he intends to
donate the property to the Armenian Orthodox Church. Manoukian, through his
attorney, Gerald Prunier, has said he identified a potential parishioner
base for the church.

An approval from Archbishop Torkom Manoogian, the Armenian Orthodox
Patriarchate of Jerusalem, is imminent, Lamontagne said.

Wilbert said his clients are not disappointed in the court – particularly
Groff’s stance on constitutional issues – but rather are dissatisfied with
the diocese for having them seek no other avenue than legal recourse.

`They’ve been nothing but faithful, but now they have to wear their emotions
on their sleeve,’ Wilbert said.

Francis Bonner, a former parishioner, said, `Naturally, we’re all
disappointed.’ He withheld further comment until he could read Groff’s
dismissal.

Georgi Hippauf was not a St. Francis Xavier parishioner but is an ardent
supporter of preserving the building as a religious institution. Hippauf
does not object to the Armenian Orthodox Church claiming the old parish as a
home, but she wonders if it will have enough support to thrive.

`We have not abandoned our game plan,’ she said. `We have opportunities to
make it right, to at least ensure it’s not used for anything but religious
purposes. After all this time, though, fighting it . . . it’s devastating.
It seems likes the bad guys are winning against the good people, ordinary
people.’

Albert McKeon can be reached at 594-5832 or mckeona@telegraph-nh.com.