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<\/p>\nTwo buildings that served West Scranton\u2019s spiritual needs will be repurposed to serve the need for childcare and housing in the neighborhood.<\/p>\n
The Agency for Community EmPOWERment, or ACE, purchased the former St. Michael\u2019s Roman Catholic Church and its neighboring rectory building in the 1700 block of Jackson Street last month, according to a property transfer recorded by the Lackawanna County recorder of deeds.<\/p>\n
The Scranton-based agency plans to turn the rectory into a four-bedroom affordable housing unit, and the church into an early childhood center.<\/p>\n
Executive Director Jim Wansacz said the buildings fill a need for housing and childcare in the area.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re looking at this as a way to put in a family in (a home) at an affordable way, and also fill a need for more early learning classrooms,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
A community needs assessment conducted by the agency found a need for both in the neighborhood.<\/p>\n
ACE plans to convert the church into an early childhood center with two or three classrooms, serving infants and children up to 5 years of age. The number of teachers will depend on the type of classroom and guidelines for running them. Families will not be charged to enroll children at the facility.<\/p>\n
The agency has more than 1,000 children enrolled in early childhood facilities in Lackawanna, Wayne, Pike and Susquehanna counties. Wansacz said they help children get ready for school.<\/p>\n
The house will be part of the agency\u2019s Scranton Lackawanna Resources Development Corporation, which matches low- to moderate-income families with affordable housing. ACE has 12 units throughout the county that it rents to families that meet the income qualifications, Wansacz said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe housing will be taken care of for families that will be able to live in an affordable, high-quality housing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Wansacz anticipates the house will be ready for tenants by November or December, and the classrooms will be up and running next year.<\/p>\n
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The former St. Michael\u2019s Church on Jackson Street in West Scranton pictured Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. (Christine Lee\/Staff Photo)\n<\/p>\n
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The rectory of the former St. Michael\u2019s Church on Jackson Street in West Scranton pictured Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. (Christine Lee\/Staff Photo)\n<\/p>\n
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The former St. Michael\u2019s Church on Jackson Street in West Scranton pictured Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. (Christine Lee\/Staff Photo)\n<\/p>\n
Expand<\/a><\/p>\n The Diocese of Scranton closed the church last year, with its final Mass taking place last September. In his decree ordering the closure, the Most Rev. Joseph Bambera, bishop of the diocese, said the parish \u2014 which is overseen by the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter and celebrates the traditional Latin Mass \u2014 had outgrown the church on Jackson Street and ordered the parish relocated to St. Lucy\u2019s Church on Scranton Street.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n The church, originally established for Catholics of Lithuanian heritage, was dedicated in 1942, according to archives of The Times-Tribune.\n<\/p>\n Felicia Gerrity, manager of Vitali\u2019s Market, which sits next to the rectory, grew up attending the church and was married there, and two of her four children were baptized there. She was sad to see it close but is hopeful its new owner can bring new life to the building.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it will bring more people to the neighborhood, and it\u2019s better than being empty,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The buildings are the latest project for the nonprofit agency, which is part of a national network of federally funded community action agencies that administers poverty-assistance programs on the local level. Those include housing, early learning, home weatherization, utility, vehicle and food assistance, and workforce and veterans programs.<\/p>\n They received funding last year for a new housing complex for veterans<\/a> in South Scranton. The building at 601 Prospect Ave. will house up to eight veterans.\n<\/p>\n It is also not the first former faith-based property the organization has acquired, as it uses the former Holy Rosary School in North Scranton as an early learning center.<\/p>\n