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The remnants of Christ the King church in Blakeslee could all soon disappear.
The former Blakeslee church building has been sold, the rectory is under contract to be sold and the family center is a new listing on the realty block, according to church officials.
Albrightsville-based Liquid Fence, a repellent company, confirmed it has purchased the building and is in the process of tailoring it to its needs. However, company officials couldn’t say when it will move into the cozy former church, built in the late 1970s after it became a full parish in 1976.
It had been a mission parish before then, with a priest from St. Elizabeth’s in Bear Creek saying Mass once a week.
The Rev. John B. O’Boyle, pastor at St. Maximilian Kolbe in Pocono Pines, said the loss of the parish buildings — even though the parish ceased to exist more than a year ago — is still hard to take.
“It is (sad),” Boyle said. “All the vestiges of Christ the King are going to be liquidated. But it’s not a good position for us to be in, to keep paying the bills.”
St. Maximilian Kolbe was formed in 2009 as a merger of Our Lady of the Lake in Pocono Pines and Christ the King. The parish has been responsible for the bills on the vacant Christ the King buildings since the parishes merged.
The Diocese of Scranton confirmed that the building has been sold, but did not disclose financial terms. No deed has been filed yet at the Monroe County Courthouse, but construction crews already are working at Christ the King to transform it into office space for Liquid Fence. The company’s current office is on Route 534 in Albrightsville.
The former Christ the King church building on Route 115 just north of Route 940 and the rectory in a local residential development immediately went on sale when the parish closed. The Christ the King Family Center on Route 940 just east of Blakeslee Corners went on sale in September, Boyle said, though it hasn’t been appraised yet for an asking price. St. Maximilian Kolbe had been renting out the facility, but the rental costs weren’t covering the bills.
“We were paying $2,000 a month just in utilities (at the family center),” Boyle said. “It was just too much.”
The Diocese of Scranton went through extensive restructuring in 2009 that saw the closing of more than 100 parishes in its 11 counties.
In Monroe County, only the Christ the King building was closed.
Diocese spokesman Bill Genello would not disclose whether any other closed parishes in the diocese had been sold.
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