Structural problems force closure of St. Michael church in Pawcatuck

Stonington — St. Michael the Archangel Church in Pawcatuck is being forced to close its doors because of serious structural problems and will not reopen until extensive repairs are made or a new church is built. The closure is scheduled to go into effect Monday.

Meanwhile parishioners will attend services at St. Mary church in the borough. The temporary closure does not affect St. Michael School.

Parishioners learned the news at this morning’s masses from Rev. Dennis Perkins, the church’s pastor, who spoke about the problem for about 15 minutes at the 11 a.m. mass.

He said that engineers hired by the parish to look at restoring the church told parish officials on Friday that they had concerns about the roof and ceiling and the church should not be occupied until repairs are made.

The engineers are scheduled to inform town officials of the closure on Monday.