Archdiocese of Philadelphia Church Closing

BRISTOL, PA - MAY 31:  Ralph DiGuiseppe of Bristol, Pennsylvania is hugged by Sister Mary Donald, O. SS. T after the closing of St. Ann's parish is announced May 31, 2014 in Bristol, Pennsylvania. (Photo by William Thomas Cain/Cain Images) (William Thomas Cain)

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia had been discussing the merger of several parishes in the Philadelphia area over the last few months. The announcement was to be made last Saturday night to parish members of the affected churches.

On Saturday night I was assigned to photograph what potentially might have been one of the last masses celebrated at St. Ann Catholic Church in Bristol, Pennsylvania.
I arrived early, to make sure I had time to speak with the church pastor and secure permission to snake pictures during the service as well as the announcement of the merger.
The padre agreed, although I did receive a bit of resistance from some parishioners that has said they didn’t believe the pastor would like anyone making photographs. They seemed surpassed when i told them I had secured permission, and all was good.

It seemed as though people knew what was coming when Father Tom Morris read the announcement from the Archdiocese. There were plenty of tears beforehand as well as during. It was a difficult assignment to photograph, because I could feel their pain. Below are some of the images as well as the video I made during the announcement from Father Morris.

BRISTOL, PA - MAY 31:  Monica DiGuiseppe and Robyn Trunell, both of Bristol, Pennsylvania tear up after the closing of St. Ann's parish is announced May 31, 2014 in Bristol, Pennsylvania. (Photo by William Thomas Cain/Cain Images) (William Thomas Cain)

BRISTOL, PA - MAY 31:  Robyn Trunell, of Bristol, Pennsylvania wipes a tear after the closing of St. Ann's parish is announced May 31, 2014 in Bristol, Pennsylvania. (Photo by William Thomas Cain/Cain Images) (William Thomas Cain)

BRISTOL, PA - MAY 31:  From left, Ralph DiGuiseppe, Monica DiGuiseppe,  Robyn Trunell and in the foreground Ann Sidorak, all of Bristol, Pennsylvania continue worship after the closing of St. Ann's parish is announced May 31, 2014 in Bristol, Pennsylvania. The woman on the far right is unidentified. (Photo by William Thomas Cain/Cain Images) (William Thomas Cain)

Marie-Helen & Stephane Wedding Photography Newtown, Pennsylvania

I spent the afternoon last Friday photographing Marie-Helen & Stephane’s wedding in historic Newtown, Pennsylvania. The ceremony was performed by Mayor Dennis O’Brien in the borough council chambers. After the ceremony we wandered around Newtown a bit making some pictures of the couple sharing the joy of the blessed event. Both are from Montreal, Canada, so I was a bit hesitant to make pictures in front of the borough council chambers because of the American flag bunting surrounding the building. They didn’t have a problem with it though, Stephane said, because they’d been living here for 10 year and appreciated the visual. After the burough, we stopped by a little league baseball field in town with…more American Flag bunting. There the couple had a laugh and some champagne to celebrate. Then off to a weekend honeymoon in New York City, New York.

Congrats!! And all the best to the happy couple.

See the full image gallery @ Marie-Helen & Stephane Wedding Photography Newtown, Pennsylvania. Check out my wedding photography website @ http://www.loveweddingphotos.com.


You can also check out the slideshow. Click the box at the bottom right of the slideshow to view in full screen.