"The Bishop needs to hear from you. He has asked us do we want to appeal?" Father Robert Begin asked the congregation. They responded with a standing ovation and a resounding yes.
Thousands packed the church on West 65th Street for the mass, and as they entered parishioners passed out petitions to keep St. Colman open.
As part of the reconfiguration plan set by the Cleveland Diocese, St. Colman and St. Stephen will merge. St. Colman's Catholic Church will be closed. The closure came as a surprise because the cluster committee recommended St. Stephen's close.
"It's just devastating to us that through all these cluster meetings we were meant to stay open and now it's gone, that they would do that to us it's almost a betrayal," parishioner Katie Patton said.
Patton said her family is like many others at St. Colman, it has been in the family for generations.
"It's my heritage, you wouldn't understand until it's happened to you where you've had something for fifty years and it's taken from you. It's like losing a mom or a dad." Parishioner Shawn Shea said.
Shea, like many others grabbed as many petitions as he could to distribute to friends and family, some of which have moved out of the area.
Each church on the closure list has until March 27 to appeal.
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