St. Mary’s served as the religious and social center of Salem’s Italian community for nearly a century. The history of the neighborhood and the people who built it can be literally seen in the names of dedications on its walls. This working class community pooled its resources to buy the property, construct the church and adorn it with significant artistic touches.

This church and its campus (a rectory, youth center and apartment building) were self-sustaining and financially solvent. It never relied on the Boston Archdiocese for support. In fact it donated large sums of money to the Archdiocese's appeals and stewardship campaigns. In 1980, a check of $50,000 was donated to Humberto Cardinal Medeiros – the Cardinal of Boston at the time. There was still a hefty bank account in January of 2003, when the Archdiocese of Boston closed the church in the midst of its financial and clergy abuse crisis. The Archdiocese appropriated the church's bank account as well as all items on church property.

The Salem Mission, an agency that provides housing and services to the homeless, purchased St Mary’s and its three properties from the Archdiocese in 2004 for a reported two million dollars. With encouragement from Historic Salem, the Salem Mission and Archdiocese agreed to allow the stained glass windows to remain after the sale – for an additional reported $30,000.

The Salem Mission owns the four buildings that once formed the parish. They currently use the former Youth Center as a homeless shelter. They have developed housing in both the former rectory and an apartment building the parish owned. The church building itself is being run as the Second Chance Thrift Shop with displays of used clothing, furniture and household items in the bottom chapel. The beautiful upper church is closed off to the public and is being used as storage space for items yet to make it into the thrift shop.

OUR CONCEPT FOR TODAY

The Arts Center would preserve the interior and exterior architectural and artistic elements of the building. It would once again open the building to the community that created it.

With the proceeds from the sale, the Mission would have the flexibility to invest in additional programs and housing opportunities, so the community and the Mission both win.

This Center for the Arts will become its own community: a place where ideas, art, culture, performance, education, neighborhood and social service converge. It will allow residents, visitors and Mission clients to be engaged, entertained and educated by one another. All of us will be fuller by this exchange and by having such a facility in Salem.

MORE THAN HOUSING, MORE THAN ART

When St Mary’s Italian Church closed in 2003 there was a feeling of helplessness and anger in the neighborhood where it stands. Since its purchase by the Salem Mission, there has been friction regarding activities in front of the former parish properties and perceptions about who the Mission is serving. Because of a lack of communication between neighborhood residents and Salem Mission officials it is unclear what is perception and what is reality. The Mission also made written promises about the church that – because of changing circumstances – it feels it can no longer uphold.

Today, the building is at a turning point. This is a moment in time when all can step back from their singular visions of what that building was, what it is, and what it could be. It is a chance to consider the wider and more inclusive possibility of creating something that can benefit a broader spectrum of people while also building harmony and community.

St Mary’s Italian Church was once the center of the community often referred to as “The Italian Neighborhood.” Beyond its spiritual mission, the church was also a social center. Through various groups such as its Holy Rosary Society, it raised funds for local, national and international causes, and assisted the neediest members of the community it was created to serve.

Our concept is to revive this community outreach and the soul of the church – not through a religious mission, nor through a service to one sector – but by using the arts as an inviting link that will connect all parts of the community. Together we can mend the frayed relations between the Mission, many in the neighborhood, and residents of the city. Together we can widen all of our visions, and become a stronger and more significant whole.

The Community Center would preserve the building. As artists we will take special pride in caring for the stained glass windows, as well as the hand-painted frescoes and paintings. We look forward to inviting parishers back to the palace they built where they can celebrate art and culture

Besides using the funds generated from the purchase of the building for housing and services, Mission clients could be afforded work and educational opportunities at the SCAC, including potential jobs in administration, building maintenance and operations, retail, set construction, and more. Educational outreach could include reduced or free tickets to productions, concerts, and other events, as well as access to classes and even possibly art therapy workshops for clients in need of those services.

This center for the arts will allow residents, visitors and Mission clients to be engaged, entertained and educated by one another. All of us will be fuller by this exchange and by having such a facility in Salem.

DOWNLOAD OUR INITIAL PROPOSAL TO THE SALEM MISSION