Dundalk church damaged in fire will remain permanently closed

Since 1949, St. Rita has stood on Dunleer Road in Dundalk, its presence comforting those who attended Mass there.

“It is an impressive thing – center of the community,” Monsignor Jay F. O’Connor, Episcopal Vicar to the Eastern Vicariate, said. “A lot of things came out of that church.”

Even when the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s Seek the City to Come pastoral planning initiative made the decision to merge 61 parishes into 30 worship sites by the end of 2024, the church remained open as a worship site. Though it – along with St. Luke in Edgemere and Sacred Heart of Mary in Graceland Park – merged with the seated parish Our Lady of Hope in Dundalk, a weekly Mass, funerals and weddings were still allowed to take place at St. Rita.

All that changed when lightning struck the church July 1, 2025, causing a fire that heavily damaged the building. Father Kevin Mueller, pastor of Our Lady of Hope, noted that there was both smoke and water damage. “The fire department sprayed water over the ceiling,” he said.

The immediate thought was to restore and reopen it, Monsignor O’Connor said. 

“It incurred a good bit of damage, but it could have been repaired. There was insurance to cover it,” he said. “We had to reconsider that. We looked toward the future.”

That reconsideration took into account more than just the fire damage. Our Lady of Hope has struggled for years with a deteriorating roof and has no functioning air conditioning – a hardship that becomes acute during summer months. In fact, the possibility of renovating or building a new church for Our Lady of Hope had already been under discussion well before the lightning strike on St. Rita.

During the discernment process regarding the future of the St. Rita church building, archdiocesan leaders examined several options. The discernment included meetings with church leaders and a parish meeting in October that drew more than 120 people to discuss possible paths forward for the damaged church.

Following the consultation, the archdiocese made the decision to permanently close St. Rita as a second worship site of Our Lady of Hope.

“It wasn’t my favorite thing to do,” Father Mueller said of announcing the decision to the parish March 1. “It was tough.”

St. Rita, Father Mueller said, was the “lifelong parish” for many. If the decision to close the church had happened right after the fire, it would have been harder for them, he said, but eight months have gone by.

“It’s a different church, but they get to stay together as a community,” Father Mueller said of the 150 or so parishioners who attended the weekly Mass at St. Rita and switched to Our Lady of Hope after the fire. “They are used to being here now.”

The decision to close St. Rita follows the goals of Seek the City, according to Monsignor O’Connor. “A new parish needs to develop, for the future of the church and evangelism, and for the pastoral care and spiritual care for the people in Dundalk,” he said.

Whether that means using the insurance money – $1.1 million – to help build a new church or to renovate Our Lady of Hope remains to be determined, Monsignor O’Connor said. The money could also be used to develop and establish places of spiritual and pastoral care throughout the area.

“The parish needs to establish a presence in the community that does not involve a building,” Monsignor O’Connor said, adding that Catholic Charities offers services in a strip mall across from St. Rita. “We’re looking at moving their (St. Rita) food pantry with them and working out of that space,” he said. “We have a lot more to do to bring that about.”

As to what will happen to the church property, no decisions have been made, Monsignor O’Connor said.

Peggy Shaffer, a member of St. Rita for 35 years who was part of the Seek the City transition team, hopes the church’s statues and stained glass windows are preserved no matter what the outcome.

“Hopefully, they will go to a place where they continue to honor God and some other parish is able to appreciate them,” Shaffer said. “Behind the altar was a huge stone crucifix. It is gorgeous but I think it is built into that wall. I don’t want to think about that.”

There are currently no intentions to relocate Apostleship of the Sea, the archdiocese’s ministry for seafarers based in the former rectory of St. Rita, Monsignor O’Connor said.

“They lost their building, but they haven’t lost each other,” Father Mueller said of St. Rita’s parishioners. “If they stay with us, they will still have their community.”

Shaffer, who recently moved to Delaware, still attends Our Lady of Hope regularly. Like many St. Rita parishioners, she was heartbroken when the closure was announced. She is positive about the future, however.

“We have good shepherds,” she said of Father Mueller and Father Vincent Arisukwu, associate pastor. “Hopefully, that is what is going to see us through.”

Email Katie V. Jones at kjones@CatholicReview.org

Also see:

Two-alarm fire damages St. Rita Church

Hope rises from ashes for St. Rita parishioners

Dundalk faith community considers options for St. Rita Church

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