Photo by Miranda Sebroski/ Sacred Heart Church in Neffs will be shutting its doors for good on Oct. 7. The church is more than 100 years old and became very meaningful to the community.

NEFFS– Two churches that have served Cathloic residents of local communities for decades will conclude their service in the coming week.

Sacred Heart Church in Neffs is a part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Steubenville that has been around for more than 100 years. It is scheduled to close its doors on Oct. 7.

Sacred Heart was built in Neffs in 1905 with the Rev. Valarian Fligier appointed as the first resident pastor in 1907. The following year ground was purchased in Neffs for a church building. In 1910, a tornado struck the village, and the church at the foot of Dixon Hill Road was destroyed.

A school building was built and served as a church and rectory until 1913, when the current brick church was built on the foundation of the original church. Men of the congregation are credited with the construction of the church.

Now, Sacred Heart Parish will become part of the territory of St. John Parish in Bellaire.

Bill Bryan lives in Cleveland, but he has a past with the Sacred Heart Church in Neffs that is near and dear to him. His mother was born in 1926 and was a member of the Sacred Heart Church, where she she also married Bryanás father before moving to Akron, Ohio. Bryan said his mother had six brothers and three sisters who were all members of the church. He also said many of his cousins were married in the church and many family members buried there, including his grandmother who was a long time member.

Bryan has attended Mass at the church many times in the past with the most recent being last spring at the 78th observance of the Willow Grove mine explosion, where his uncle was one of the victims. On March 16, 1940, 72 men died in a blast at the mine, owned by Hanna Coal Co.

Bryan said he wants to voice his opinion on plans to close the church, but in the end he said it may not have any impact on whether Sacred Heart remains open.

“My aunts, uncles, members of my family have given money to the church,” Bryan said. “One of my uncles actually did a lot of work on Sacred Heart. A lot of money and sweat went into the church, not only by my family but other people there at the church. These people helped to make sure the church was up and running.

“These people really do deserve a say,” he continued. “This church means a lot to the people of Neffs. It means a lot to me, and there’s a lot of people in my family that I would know feel the same.”

Bryan is a member of a Facebook group “Memories of Neffs” where there are 1,033 other members. He said in this group that many people were voicing how upset they are at the prospect of the church closing.

“There are even people who live outside of Neffs that really love that church, too,” Bryan said. “Other churches have even been voicing their support. Churches are a community, and they really mean a lot to people. I will be attending the last Mass at Sacred Church, and I expect that a lot of people will be there. I don’t really want to speak for everyone, but I just know that a lot of people are really invested in Sacred Heart.ã

Another church closing down in the Ohio Valley area is St. John Vianney Parish at Powhatan Point. It is slated to close on Oct. 6.

The first pastor of that church was the Rev. Francis Trettel beginning in 1937. St. John Vianney was the first church in which the Roman Catholic Diocese of Steubenville’s first bishop, Bishop John King Mussio, administered the sacrament of Confirmation. St. John Vianney Parish will become a part of St.Mary Parish in Shadyside after it closes for good.

Current Bishop Jeffrey M. Monforton announced that the two churches are closing because of the retirement of the Rev. Samuel R. Saprano, former pastor of St. Mary, Shadyside, and St. John Vianney Parish, Powhatan Point. He retired on July 25.

A diocesan deanery pastoral plan was approved in 2009 by Bishop Daniel R. Conlon. The plan considered parish reconfigurations within the context of numbers of available priests; Mass times and Mass attendance; church seating capacity; the fiscal condition of parishes; condition of parishes; conditions of physical plants; and ministerial collaboration.

Sacramental records will be transferred from St. John Vianney and St. Mary to the central office at St. John in Bellaire. The final Masses will be celebrated at 6 p.m. Oct. 6 at St. John Vianney and at 8:30 a.m. Oct. 7 at Sacred Heart.