Cleveland Bishop Richard Lennon had a police security detail as he said the final Mass at St Procop's parish Sunday. Catholics from across Greater Cleveland packed the church on Cleveland's near West Side Sunday to mourn the death of a parish founded 137 years ago, the Plain Dealer reports.
On a gloomy, rainy day, worshippers streamed into the giant, 110-year-old sandstone edifice on West 41st Street for the final Mass said by Bishop Lennon, who ordered the church closed earlier this year.
Lennon, who is closing 50 parishes across the Cleveland Catholic Diocese, came to St Procop's under police security, ignoring about 40 protesters who stood outside holding signs.
Inside, a standing-room-only crowd filled pews, side aisles, the vestibule and the choir loft. Many clutched tissues to wipe away tears.
An officer followed Bishop Richard Lennon down the aisle at the end of the Mass, WTTE adds. Lennon skipped a social hour afterwards.
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