The reversal of the merger of Holy Apostles Parish with St. James Roman Catholic Church comes as a surprise.

That’s no slight toward the Save Holy Apostles Parish group who banded together quickly, raised money and made a compelling argument that Holy Apostles Parish is strong enough to remain on its own and that the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo hadn’t followed Canon Law when it sought to merge the church. The prospect of taking the appeal to the Vatican was a prospect that likely scared off many parishes scheduled for closure or to be merged – but not for the Holy Apostles members.

The Dicastry’s reversal of the extinctive merger is a blessing for the Holy Apostles parishioners. It’s also a blessing for the city of Jamestown.

Holy Apostles is a beautiful and historic church that is an indelible part of downtown Jamestown, but finding a new use for such a venerable and distinctive building was going to be difficult. Some neighborhood churches have found themselves occupied by new churches as denominations like the Methodist or Lutheran churches have consolidated churches over the years. But in many cases those buildings were newer than the historic Ss. Peter and Paul building. The last thing anyone wanted to see in downtown Jamestown was a beautiful, yet hulking, vacant church building.

The Dicastry’s decision doesn’t help a couple of the issues the merger of Holy Apostles Parish was allegedly going to remedy. There is still a shortage of priests in the region, an issue that could create further changes for the region’s Catholic churches in the wake of the Holy Apostles decision. And, the status of Holy Apostles’ assessment as part of the diocese’s settlement with child sex abuse survivors will need to be sorted out as well.

We would hope, though, that the turmoil of the past year for Holy Apostles Parish members has calmed for a while. Holy Apostles Parish will see another Christmas season. It’s a beautiful sight for anyone – though this year’s holiday season likely feels different than it did last year for Holy Apostles Parish members.