Judge greenlights demolition of Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Burlington

A judge in the environmental division of Vermont Superior Court gave the go-ahead Tuesday for demolition of the former Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in downtown Burlington, considered by some to be a masterpiece of modernist architecture.

The cathedral was designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes and the property was landscaped by Dan Kiley, whom the state architectural historian called “two of the foremost designers of the 20th century.” It closed in December 2018 after dwindling to fewer than 100 parishioners.

Judge Thomas Durkin ruled against a group of 10 Burlington residents who appealed the decision in January 2023 by the city’s Development Review Board to allow the demolition. Durkin rejected the residents’ argument that because it has been sold, and closed for four years, the cathedral is no longer a church and shouldn’t be given the “preferential treatment” a church is given. Ron Wanamaker, one of the 10 residents, said Wednesday his group will decide by the end of the week, or early next week, whether to appeal the decision to the Vermont Supreme Court.

“Our hopes and plans for the property were to save it,” Wanamaker said. “Judge Durkin disagreed with us. We’re disappointed.”

The group filed a similar argument against demolishing the cathedral in federal court, but lost that case in a decision in August 2023.

Neither state nor local governments can interfere with religious decisions

Attorney John Franco, who represented the Cathedral of the Immaculate Parish Charitable Trust, said the judge agreed with his argument that the demolition to deconsecrate the church was a religious decision by the Catholic Church, not subject to local or state jurisdiction.

“There’s been a doctrine for a long time called the church autonomy doctrine that is part of the First Amendment,” Franco said. “What it says is secular courts cannot second guess or interfere with matters of religious doctrine.”

The decision to deconsecrate a cathedral by demolishing it is a religious exercise, Franco explained.

Approval for the demolition ultimately came from the Vatican in a “very involved” process that started locally and took two years to complete, according to Franco. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops required the Trust to have a purchase and sale agreement on the property before agreeing to demolition.

More: What will we be losing if the Immaculate Conception cathedral is demolished?

Judge Durkin wrote in his decision that the Trust “underwent an ecclesiastical decision-making process that led it to ultimately deconsecrate the Property via demolition.”

“The Court is without authority to question this ecclesiastical process or decision,” Durkin concluded.

Attorney is unable to say who the buyer is or how much the buyer paid

Franco said he was not at liberty to disclose the buyer, or the purchase price for the cathedral. He said the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops requires church properties selling for $3.5 million and above to be under contract, to protect against ill-considered decisions.

Several of the Burlington residents who appealed against the demolition, including Wanamaker, are members of Preservation Burlington, but Wanamaker said Preservation Burlington is not involved in the legal proceedings.

“Preservation Burlington has been helping with outreach and fundraising,” Wanamaker said. “We’re seeing a lot of community support, including ex-parishioners. We’re getting donations and a lot of comments from people who would love to see the building continue on as a community benefit.”

More: Former Cathedral of Immaculate Conception to be demolished

If the group of Burlington residents does decide to appeal, a decision from the Supreme Court likely wouldn’t come until March 2025, according to Franco.

“We would like to persuade (them) not to go forward with an appeal,” Franco said.

Contact Dan D’Ambrosio at 660-1841 or ddambrosi@gannett.com. Follow him on X @DanDambrosioVT.