Downey : Church Ponders Quake Fate
In an attempt to quell disagreements among parishioners and some of its clergy about the fate of its church, the Parish Council of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Downey on Tuesday night established a blue ribbon committee to study the nearly 60-year-old building, which sustained extensive damage after last year’s Whittier Narrows earthquake.
The committee will decide whether a new church should be built on land the parish owns near Our Lady of Perpetual Help school or repair the existing building to make it safe for services.
The church’s pastor, Msgr. John Young, said engineers’ estimates put the cost of repairs at $1.3 million to repair the church and $1.5 million to build a new one. A new church, he said, would be located at Downey Avenue and 6th Street, two blocks away from the current site.
The 5.9-quake produced major cracks in the church’s structure and required removal of a 50-year-old tower and closure of an older section built in 1930. The church’s newer section, built in 1950, holds about 250 people and sustained limited damage from the quake.
Young said that parishioners are divided over whether to build a new church mainly because of sentiment. Many have been members for more than 30 years and cannot bear to part with it, he said.
The committee is expected to research the church’s options and consult with engineers for about three months before reaching a decision.
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