A Miracle at Final Mass

One of the Boston churches that is closing experiences a rather dramatic ending to the liturgy. What do you think?



From Boston.com / News / Local / A 'miracle' at final Mass:



After 99 years of feasts, funerals, weddings, and baptisms, parishioners who went to the final Mass at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in East Boston yesterday declared that they had witnessed a miracle.



The church's statue of the Virgin Mary, which stood in front of the altar, tipped over suddenly and thudded to the floor after Mass, seemingly unmolested by human hands, parishioners said.



Trembling and weeping, they called it a sign from God protesting the Boston Archdiocese's decision to close their church, part of the lifeblood of the working-class, Italian-American neighborhood since 1905.



''This is a miracle!" Gerri Costa exclaimed after parishioners righted the 5-foot statue, which was missing a few pieces from its back. ''Miracles do happen, and this is a miracle. Viva La Madonna!"



The conclusion to the East Boston church's final Mass in Italian boiled with pain, anger, and hope, a tumult of emotions engulfing many parishes in the archdiocese as the process of closing 82 parishes continues.