Parishioners of St. Andrew the Apostle push back on closing

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St. Andrew the Apostle in Bayonne is closing. The church, which opened its doors on West Fourth Street 110 years ago, will hold one more Mass on Sept. 22. The archdiocese's decision was based on a 35% decrease in attendance at Mass, plus a lack of revenue to make necessary repairs to the building. Mary Borrello-Cerreta, a parishioner who lives across the street, is pushing back on the decision, which she considers heartbreaking. “It’s not just brick-and-mortar, these are memories," she says. “This is a place, a safe haven for people to come to worship to say their rosary.” Borrello-Cerreta says she was baptized and married at St. Andrew, and that her daughter Catherine was also married at St. Andrew in November. She hired a canon lawyer to appeal the closing to Rome, citing her disappointment with the decision made by the Newark Archdiocese. “We were betrayed by our pastor and it’s just heart wrenching to know that 400 people are being ignored. And the money is there to restore the church," she says. Borello-Cerreta has 471 signatures for a petition to keep the church open. She says the church made $5 five million in the sale of the school and the convent enough to pay for repairs. Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis, another parishioner, also called out the archdiocese. “Their only job was to maintain the building, and they never did that," he says. “The archdiocese made this decision probably 15 to 20 years ago. They haven’t put a penny into that church in 35-40 years.” The sanctuary holds many windows of ornate German stained glass, all donated by the families who first made up the parish. What will happen with that expensive glass and statuary is unknown. Maria Margiotta, the director of communications for the archdiocese, released the following statement: “We recognize this is a difficult decision and painful to parishioners past and present; however, this is the responsible and necessary decision to maintain a sustainable parish in this community.” Parishioners have been told to attend nearby St. Mary’s Star of the Sea. "