Summary About St. Emeric Parish's Situation

St. Emeric Parish was established in 1904 to serve the needs of the Hungarian immigrants on the West Side of Cleveland.  Today, it is a parish of 350 households, still serving the needs of the Hungarian-American community, especially those for whom English is their second language and who still seek spiritual guidance and liturgy in Hungarian.  The parish is a community of Hungarian-Americans who wish to worship together as a community of faithful in the Roman Catholic Church in their native Hungarian language with traditional liturgical music.  Also, the church has always been and still is a center for cultural activities that embrace Christian values for members of all ages, the elderly as well as the youth, enriching lives both spiritually and socially.  

The latest large number of immigrants arrived after the Communist takeover of Hungary after 1949 and also after the defeat of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution seeking a new life in the land of the free.  The church again provided a welcome and stability in their lives at those trying times. These new immigrants worked very hard in the footsteps of the older generation to keep and maintain their church for worship in the Roman Catholic Faith, observing traditions of a 1,000 year old Christian nation.  The liturgical music is one of these which creates an atmosphere of reverence and worship.  

St. Emeric Church is located in Ohio City, behind the West Side market.  There is ample parking during evenings and non-market days through the graciousness of the city of Cleveland.  The church is centrally located, easily accessible by four major highways,  I-90, I-77, I-71 and the Shoreway, by bus and rapid transit.  The parishioners are mainly from the west side of Cleveland and its western suburbs, some are from the far east and south sides, even as far as Canton.  

The buildings, church, rectory, custodian house, and Hungarian Scout Center are well maintained, in excellent condition. The parish enjoys sound finances without debt, has always paid its assessments to the Diocese, and even has reserves for emergencies. It has been a good steward of its resources, with a number of the workers, salaried elsewhere, being volunteers. The parish administrator, Father Sandor, is an “extern” priest fluent in the Hungarian language.  He is not a diocesan priest, hence the parish closure would result in the diocese losing a priest.  The greater Cleveland area, including Akron, has many elderly Hungarian-Americans residing in nursing homes.  For these shut-ins, the visit by Father to administer to them in Hungarian is the ray of sunshine and hope in their otherwise bleak and challenging old age.  

The Scout Center is a building that was an old abandoned warehouse on parish grounds, slated for demolition 20 years ago,  but the Scouts contracted with the Diocese a twenty-year lease for the building.  The older scouts completely renovated it at their own expense into a modern facility housing classrooms, meeting rooms, a kitchen and a dance studio. It is used regularly by the youth, the Scouts and the Hungarian School several evenings a week.  All expenses for utilities and maintenance are assumed by the Scouts.  The Scouts participate in special liturgical events at the church, and Father visits them at summer camps and picnics to offer mass, traveling sometimes as far as Fillmore, New York.  

Parish organizations include an Altar Guild, a Holy Name Society, a Craft Club, a Fatima Family observing First Saturday devotions, and Rosary Prayer service before Sunday Mass. Special liturgical celebrations with respective traditional sacred music include Easter Procession, May Crowning, First communion, Corpus Christi outdoor procession, St. Emeric Feast Day, Christmas Concert and midnight mass.  

The Cluster process:   St. Elizabeth of Hungary, St. Emeric, and St. Margaret of Hungary were put into a so called “Hungarian Cluster”.  As a result of the prescribed process and conscientious discernment, the cluster team members concluded that all three parishes remain open because all  are needed by the Faithful and because all  meet the criteria of vibrancy, financial viability, and adequate pastoral care. The fact that these parishes are located great distances from each other, one on the West side of Cleveland, one on the East side, and the third Orange Village made the “need” for each even stronger. The cluster’s recommendation, consequently, was that all three parishes remain open.  Bishop Lennon did not give due consideration to these recommendations and decreed St. Emeric and St. Margaret of Hungary to “close”.    

Despite several requests by Miklos Peller, the writer of the petition and appeal, as a procurator mandated by 256 parishioners with notarized signatures.  Bishop Lennon did not grant opportunity for an audience nor responded to the particular topic items in the petition.  

What we seek is dialogue with Bishop Lennon, to reach some compromise so that St. Emeric may stay open as a contributing member of the Diocese  as long as it is needed by the parishioners.     

                                                                    Submitted by: Ildiko Peller