We had our last Mass here in St. Sylvia's Church on Sunday.  I was amazed when I drove up, not only was my usual parking spot gone, the whole lot was full, and cars lined both sides of the street.  I found a parking spot and hurried in to see what was going on.  The church was packed, mostly with people I never saw before, but the usual 20 of my fellow regular churchgoers were found among the crowd. There was an organist, and a woman  that would later sing Ave Maria and my favorite where the chorus is Oh Maria, and Salve, salve, salve Regina.  The two usual priests were on the altar, but there was an altar boy and the priest from St. Christopher's, which will be our new parish.

I did get to sit in my usual pew, but I shared with it three other people, all strangers.  Our priest talked on and on, giving the whole history of the church, quoted all the words from Camelot, and then the song the Von Trapp girls sang - "So long, goodbye, auf vedeshein", got in a few digs about "All things news" and  prayed that this beautiful church would not become another restaurant or bistro.

We ended with everyone singing from a handout sheet, "Auld Lang Syne" and I saw more than one person pull out a handkerchief.  So that's that - that beautiful church modeled after a French one, donated by a local wealthy family, whose son was cured at Lourdes, which served all the poor Irish immigrants, working on the railroad, all those baptisms, marriages, First Communions, funerals, all those memories will never happen again.  Sad day for Tivoli, sad day for the Catholic Church.