Bristol couple buys St. Jean Baptiste Church in Warren

Diocese of Providence closed church in late 2017

By Ted Hayes
Posted 3/24/19

A Bristol couple has purchased the old St. Jean Baptiste church property on Main Street and plan to convert the property into their primary residence.

Michael and Carol Riley closed on the …

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Bristol couple buys St. Jean Baptiste Church in Warren

Diocese of Providence closed church in late 2017

Posted

A Bristol couple has purchased the old St. Jean Baptiste church property on Main Street and plans to convert the property into their primary residence.

Michael and Carol Riley closed on the property Friday, paying $350,000 for the church that had been closed for more than a 14 months. Realtor Brenda Marchwicki represented the Diocese of Providence, and Paula Wolfang the Rileys.

"They're very excited," Ms. Wolfang said of the new owners. "They're in there today working on it."

Ms. Riley is an artist affiliated with the Hotpoint Gallery, and Mr. Riley is a professional squash player and referee.

Their new home was built in 1882, has 7,200 square feet of living space and sits on just under an acre of land spread out over three separate parcels. The Rileys are keeping three of the four but have already put one, a 17,729-square-foot lot fronting Nobert Street, on the market. They are asking $150,000. The church sits in an R-6 zone and while it was open operated under a special use permit. That is null with last week's sale.

Diocese of Providence officials decided to close the church in late 2017. Locally, Pastor Douglass Grant cited “a decay in sacramental custom,” along with the rising and ongoing costs to preserve the church building, as the main reasons. Father Grant was expected to announce the church's sale at Sunday Mass, held at St. Mary of The Bay.

The church’s last Mass was held on Dec. 31, 2017. In 1990, there were 750 registered families in the parish but by 2009 that number had dropped to 500 registered families.

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