By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
It has been losing parishioners for years, but long-time members of Seven Dolors Catholic Church never thought they’d see it close.
Seven Dolors, founded in 1870 and located just east of St. Joseph, celebrates its final mass Sunday.
Wayne Reardon was baptized at Seven Dolors, and now at the age of 96, says seven generations of his family have attended the church.
“Means a lot. I grew up here. I was in this territory for all my life, really,” Reardon tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post during a visit to Seven Dolors. “I hate to see it close.”
A lot of emotions run through Reardon as the final mass approaches.
“You know, I just never ever thought of this church closing,” Reardon says. “We lost a lot of our parishioners, especially the younger ones.”
Seven Dolors, known formally as the Church of our Mother of Sorrows Seven Dolors Catholic Church, is one of four small, rural northwest Missouri Catholic churches closing and merging with other parishes due to a steady drop in attendance over the years. Seven Dolors will merge with St. Joseph’s Parish in Easton.
Missouri of St. Benedict in Burlington Junction has merged with St. Paul the Apostle Parish in Tarkio. Mission of Immaculate Heart of Mary in Princeton soon merges with St. Joseph Parish in Trenton. Mission of St. Aloysius in Maysville will merge with St. Munchin Parish in Cameron.
Seven Dolors anchored a community in Hurlingen. German/Irish immigrants planted the church in 1870 on two acres donated by Joseph Wiedmaier. Soon, a school would be erected. A small store sold general goods to area residents. Reardon says neighbors helped neighbors butchering hogs, threshing grain, building barns. Seven Dolors at one time held three weekend masses, one on Saturday and two on Sunday that drew approximately 300. Only about 25 to 30 regularly attend the early Sunday morning mass now.
The annual Seven Dolors picnic on the last Sunday in July drew hundreds to the small church. It ended in 2016 when the work became too much for a parish with dwindling population.
Wayne’s son, Steven Reardon, now lives in Cameron, but was raised at Seven Dolors and says the pending closing of the church elicits a lot of emotions.
“Sad, but it was expected. I was not surprised. You look at some of these churches, like Princeton and other areas that are closing, they’re going to drive a tremendous distance to try to get to another Catholic church,” Reardon explains. “We are pretty lucky to be close to St. Joe, Guadalupe (Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church). Actually, it’s going to be easier for us than many of the other rural communities.”
Steven Reardon says while he is sad to hear of its closing, there is a sense of inevitability to the decision to close Seven Dolors.
“Well, we’ve declined so much in membership that it’s not going to be as difficult as would have been years ago,” Reardon says. “We’ve lost the schools. They’re not individually located at churches; just change in the fabric of society.”
You can follow Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.