I am the President of the St. Stephen Protomartyr Project and I am a practicing Roman Catholic who believes strongly in the importance of retaining former Roman Catholic parish churches when possible as Roman Catholic sacred spaces (shrines, chapels or oratories,) and using them as tools to strengthen the faith. Professionally, I earned a BA in political science and history in 2007 from Tufts University in Medford MA. After college, I worked as a middle school teacher in New Orleans LA as part of the Teach for America program to help close the achievement gap faced by many of our nation’s children. My interest in education then led me to South Korea where I taught at Yeungnam University’s Foreign Language Institute as a Fulbright ETA. Upon returning to the United States, I undertook legal studies at Boston College Law School, earning a Juris Doctorate. Following this, I completed graduate studies at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University in New York, earning an MPA. I am a licensed attorney in the states of Massachusetts and New York.
Since 2004, when I became aware that Roman Catholic church buildings could be closed (I am speaking of churches themselves, not “parishes,”) I have undertaken extensive research into canonically valid and proven alternatives to their closure, in order to try and ensure that as few churches as possible are lost in these times in which we live. My research led to my identifying over sixty former parish churches in the United States, Canada and Australia which continued to be maintained as Roman Catholic sacred spaces in accordance with canon law, cared for by nonprofit groups established to maintain them so that they can exist at no cost to the dioceses in which they are located. In-depth interviews with individuals involved in these cases led me to develop a series of best practices that can be followed to take over care of former Roman Catholic parish churches so that they can be retained as Catholic sacred spaces. To date the best practices I have developed have led to 17 additional groups of parishioners reaching agreements with diocesan and archdiocesan leaders which have allowed former parish churches they raise all of the funds to care for to remain Roman Catholic sacred spaces.
My research served as the basis for a paper I wrote and conference poster I presented at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome in November 2018 during a conference on the future of closed churches. A publisher has agreed to publish a book I am currently writing to explain the alternatives that exist under canon law to the permanent closure of former Roman Catholic parish churches and how they can be validly implemented. The book will discuss successful examples of each course of action that can be taken, and argue that the beauty of the sacred art and architecture of many former parish churches can encourage those who are exposed to it to reconnect with or be drawn to the Catholic faith. I have also been consulted on a forthcoming documentary on the restoration and retention of former parish churches as Roman Catholic sacred spaces. I offer pro bono advice to those seeking to prevent the loss of Roman Catholic churches and work with them to develop canonically valid plans that will make the permanent closure of a church unnecessary. I also serve on the board of directors of the St. Michael Church Preservation Society of Atlantic City NJ and I am pro bono legal counsel for the St. Anne’s Shrine Preservation Society of Fall River MA.