St. Paul Parish in LaSalle preparing to close its doors

A Catholic church in LaSalle is closing. CTV Windsor’s Michelle Maluske finds out why.

For nearly 73 years, St. Paul Parish in LaSalle, part of the LaSalle River Canard Catholic Family of Parishes, has opened its doors to parishioners for Mass and confession.

The church at 5885 Malden Rd. was built and opened in 1953.

But come spring, those doors will close, and roughly 100 families will transition to Sacred Heart in LaSalle or St. Joseph’s in River Canard.

John Sutton, business manager for the LaSalle River Canard Catholic Family of Parishes, said since 2019 attendance had declined by more than half and the parish had been running a deficit with extensive repairs needed.

“Namely roof, siding, replacement of windows, unknown water damage. We looked at estimated costs and it’s in excess of half a million dollars which would have further burdened the parish and the parishioners,” he said.

Father Dwayne Adam said there’s been a steady decline with less than 10 baptisms in four of the past six years.

“The church has not really had an opportunity to grow much because a school that was next door was closed in 2002, and I think the pandemic also affected many people and attendance,” he said.

Adam said following eight months of discernment, the Diocese and parish community announced over the weekend that St. Paul Parish will close.

“I would say that initially most people were taken aback, though, most of them understood that it is been years that the conversation was carried forward about the possibility of closing the building,” Adam said.

According to the parish’s website, St. Paul’s was considered for closure in the early 2000s, but by 2008, they had been told they would remain open.

Sutton said the building will eventually be appraised, and they will follow Diocese guidelines for the sale.

The Diocese of London issued a statement to CTV News:

“Nothing has been finalized right now. Once the building closes as a church in March, the Diocese will work with the LaSalle River Canard Catholic Family of Parishes to determine what happens next. Selling the property is one option and there is a diocesan process that has to be followed for that, as well as the de-consecration the building as a place of worship if it were sold.”