New beginning for Moosic church

Robert Tomkavage, The Times-Tribune, Scranton, Pa.
·3 min read
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May 14—MOOSIC — Mark Moroski made many fond memories at St. Mary of Czestochowa Church and the borough resident created another Sunday afternoon.

Moroski, a former parishioner who received baptism and confirmation at St. Mary's on Greenwood Avenue, played guitar during a rededication of the church for use by SS. Francis and Clare Parish, a congregation of the Progressive Catholic Church.

"It's just overwhelming for me," Moroski said. "My kids were baptized in this church and my wife (Rose) and I had gone here for years until it closed. It's just awesome to resurrect this building and the spirit."

The Right Rev. William A. Mentz, pastor of SS. Francis and Clare Parish, started the service by knocking on the main doors of the church, requesting possession of the church as a house of prayer. He followed by blessing parishioners and the altar.

The former St. Mary of Czestochowa, a Polish Catholic church, closed in 2009 after 105 years. The parish consolidated with Divine Mercy Parish at St. Joseph's Church in the Minooka section of Scranton. Immaculate Conception Parish and St. John the Baptist, both of Taylor, also merged into St. Joseph's.

Mentz served as director of liturgy at Divine Mercy Parish when St. Mary of Czestochowa closed.

"I was on the team with the Diocese of Scranton during the consolidation process to physically close this church," he said. "I was here when it closed, so it was great to be part of reopening it."

SS. Francis and Clare Parish celebrated its first Mass in 2017 at Providence United Presbyterian Church and used space at several other locations before securing the spot in Moosic.

"Our parish had grown to the point where we needed more space," Mentz said. "Unanimously, at our parish meeting in January, we decided this was going to be our new home."

Unlike the Roman Catholic Church, the Progressive Catholic Church isn't bound by denominational limitations, Mentz said.

"Our table is open for everyone," he said. "We're totally independent ... we get our apostolic succession from the Old Catholic Church instead of the Roman Catholic Church. But, because of the tenets of our faith, we're able to call ourselves Catholics."

Coincidentally, St. Mary of Czestochowa Church was rededicated following renovations, also on Mother's Day, in 1979.

Mentz noted interactions with former parishioners throughout the reopening process have been positive.

"They're so grateful that it was going to be used as a church," he said.

About 80 families currently belong to the parish, and Mentz hopes to see that number increase in the coming years.

"We bought a building that was a little bit too big for us with the idea that we would grow," he said. "It's my prayer that this will become home to so many people."

For Rose Moroski, that sentiment already rings true.

"It's like coming home again," she said. "It's wonderful to have a place where everybody is truly welcome."

Contact the writer:

rtomkavage@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9131;

@rtomkavage on Twitter.