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71 Central St. Stoneham, MA 02180

Browsing Pastor's Notes

Hallelujah - Saint Patrick is debt free!

Dear Church,

Only three years ago we had a mortgage debt of over 1.2 million dollars, and the Parish was running at a deficit. As we looked to the future that debt was strangling any chance of having stability in the Parish. Together we began an aggressive campaign targeting cost overruns, making necessary cuts, and creating a debt reduction plan. Now we can celebrate our hard work, dedication, and support of one another to be debt-free. The final payment to pay off our outstanding mortgage balance of $305,000 was made in April! It was coming together with that vision and that dream of working hard to make all of this happen in fewer than three years’ time that enabled us to achieve our goal. It’s pretty close to a miracle! It is with a very humble and grateful heart that I thank each of you for helping to make this great accomplishment happen.

As you may remember through negotiations with the Archdiocese, we were able to suspend any interest on the mortgage for three years as we attempted to tackle what seemed like an insurmountable obstacle. The interest was set to begin accruing again on April 15, 2016. We would have been paying over $1,000 a month just in interest payments. “Mountain you gotta move”, whatever the obstacle is in front of us it either gets out of the way or we are coming through it!” We were able to pay the remaining balance of the mortgage through the savings we achieved in making some very difficult cut backs.

Church, please continue to your honor the pledges you made to the mortgage debt reduction campaign so we may recoup our savings and perform other necessary capital improvements to the Parish facilities, such as painting the exterior of the church and repairing all the window sills holding the beautiful stain glass windows in place.

As we move ahead through 2016 and beyond, I look forward to our continued spiritual and financial growth as a Parish Family. May God bless all of you and your families abundantly, today and always.

Sincerely,
Father Mario