Two more Roman Catholic Churches have become casualties of a shrinking city population, changing demographics, and sharp increases in heating and building maintenance costs. Our Lady of Mt. Carmel at 60 Woodward Street said its last Mass in March, and Holy Redeemer/St. Francis Xavier at 300 Bay Street said its last Mass earlier this month.

Parishioners from the two churches have joined with Corpus Christi Church at 864 East Main Street, which has been renamed Our Lady of the Americas.

"It is very costly and next to impossible to maintain three large worship sites and three aged complexes that only draw 500 or so people between them," says Doug Mandelaro, a spokesperson for the Rochester Diocese.

While the parishes have been consolidated at Our Lady of the Americas, two problems remain: what to do with the buildings, and the ministries still operating in them. The Sisters of Mercy, for instance, run a food cupboard out of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.

"More important is the Catholic presence in the center city's most impoverished neighborhoods, and the continued work of the Catholic ministries," says the Rev. Vincent Panepinto, pastor at Our Lady of the Americas.

The closings are bittersweet for Panepinto, whose parents were married at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.

Most of the artifacts from Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and Holy Redeemer/St. Francis Xavier have already been relocated to Our Lady of the Americas, except the 110 year-old marble altar from Xavier. No plans for the altar have yet been made.

Catholic Church closings have been an urban trend nationally, but the Northeast - and New York State in particular - has been hit especially hard. The Diocese of Rochester, which serves 12 counties, is down to 136 parishes from 159 since 2001. And the diocese has closed 10 of its 30 city churches since 1970. The dioceses in New York City, Buffalo, and Syracuse have experienced similar declines.

Most of the city's Catholic Churches were built for Irish, Italian, and German-American immigrants in the late 1800's.