THE SUNDAY DISPATCH, SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2013
s t. m a r y ’ s c o n v e n t i n av o c a
St. Mary’s Convent, on the corner of Hawthorne and Spring streets in Avoca, will be torn down and a parking lot will replace it.
JOE HEALEY/THE SUNDAY DISPATCH
Convent given last rites
Demolition set for Monday; property will be used for church parking By JOE HEALEY jhealey@psdispatch.com
assistant pastor at St. Mary’s in the late 1970s into the early 1980s, remembers the beloved nuns such the school’s principal Sister Laurentia Mayan, Sister Themla Gutz, Sister Maria Goretti, Sister Moira and the music teacher, Sister Lucy. “(Sister Lucy) was a wonderful piano player,” he said. Sister Jane Mary Duke, pastoral assis-
tant at the church, said the architecture of the building is stunning, including the statue of St. Joseph built into the outside of the second floor. She never stayed in the convent, but she knows many of the aging sisters who have. “They have very fond memories of this convent and of the children See, CONVENT, page 6
PAGE 3
The St. Mary’s Convent, a fixture of in Avoca since 1923 and home to hundreds of sisters from the Immaculate Heart of Mary order, has a date with the wrecking ball on Monday. The Rev. Phillip Sladicka, pastor of the newly formed Our Lady of the Apos-
tles Parish, said the building hasn’t seen any major use in about eight years “It’s very sad to see it go,” Sladicka said as he walked through the building as it was being prepped for demolition on Thursday. All of the furniture, windows, fixtures and molding have been removed from the brick and wood building. Sladicka, who previously served as