Tors Cove church draws crowd for final service

More than 100 people gathered at the Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in Tors Cove on Friday night, to mark the last ceremony of one of the area's oldest buildings.

Some people in the community have been attending mass at the church for decades, and were sad about the decision to close.

Helen Power, who had attendedmass there for years, said she can't believe the church is closing.

"It's the end of an era, I guess. It's where we went as children, we came here [for] first communion, confirmation, I got married here. It's just part of your life," said Power.

The diocese made the decision to close the church because they were unable to cover the costs to maintain and repair the ornate wooden building.

"It's sad to see it close, but as the archbishop said, we have to move forward. The church is in a bad state of disrepair, there's no money to repair it, so we have to move on," she said.

Archbishop Martin Currie led the church's final mass.

It isn't clear what will happen to the building itself, but the diocese, which had a $1-million deficit last year alone, can't afford to keep it.