St. Casimir Catholic church in Lansing could close next year

LANSING – A nearly century-old Catholic church in Lansing's Moores Park neighborhood could soon close.

The Diocese of Lansing said St. Casimir's dwindling number of parishioners and a lack of financial support could force the church to cease operations by mid 2020. David Kerr, a spokesman for the Diocese of Lansing, said no final decision has been made on the parish's future.

“St. Casimir’s straitened financial situation is such that the parish is projected to run out of money towards the middle of next year while, in terms of parish numbers, there are about 380 souls who attend holy Mass each Sunday at St. Casimir’s — that’s relatively low compared to other nearby parishes in Lansing," Kerr said.

Rev. Karl Pung, St. Casimir's administrator, met with parishioners in November and told them of the reasons behind the potential closing. Pung said the church needs more than $30,000 above the normal collections to make it through June 2020.

"I do not think we will be alone in experiencing this fate throughout the diocese. God can do anything, but I think this is the direction we are being led," Pung said in a church bulletin.

The church opened in 1921 and served Lansing's growing Polish community. St. Casimir's school opened in 1928 but closed in 1971.

St. Casimir's could be the first Catholic church closed by the Lansing diocese in almost a decade. It shuttered Holy Cross parish in Lansing in 2009. The Vietnamese Catholic community purchased the building as reopened it as the Parish of Saint Andrew Dung-Lac in 2011.

The diocese plans to review its parishes' operations in 2020. 

Contact reporter Craig Lyons at 517-377-1047 or calyons@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @craigalyons.