Churches mark 1,000 days in vigil. Organizers seek their reopening

Carol Tumasz prepared to spend the night in the chapel of St. Therese Church in Everett last week. She arrives there by 7:30 most nights. (JOHN BOHN/GLOBE STAFF)

By Kathy McCabe, Globe Staff | July 23, 2007

EVERETT -- One thousand days ago, Carol Tumasz spent her first night sleeping in the closed St. Therese Church , the Roman Catholic parish that always felt like home.

Now it is her home.

Tumasz, 49, has moved into the church, which parishioners have occupied around the clock since a closing Mass was held on Oct. 26, 2004 , the day before Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley officially closed the 77-year-old parish. Tumasz returns to her family home a few times a week to shower or do laundry. By her count, she has slept in the church all but 20 nights since the protest started.

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The occupations continue at a time when the archdiocese faces multiple lawsuits and canon appeals to the parish closings. Nine parishes, including St. Frances, St. Jeremiah, and St. James, are awaiting decision from church courts at the Vatican. Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, which is suing the archdiocese in civil court, missed a deadline to appeal to the Vatican. St. Therese did not file an appeal or a civil lawsuit.

The archdiocese, recovering financially from the clergy sex abuse crisis, is confronting a severe priest shortage. A new planning report estimates the number of active priests will drop from 500 today to 292 in eight years. The report, which acknowledges the "harsh legacy" of parish closings, also calls for new models to staff parishes.

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