ASHTABULA, Ohio — Parishioners are calling for Mother of Sorrows in Ashtabula to be reopened after the Diocese of Youngstown formally announced its closure, along with two others in the region, earlier this year.

The closure officially went into effect over the weekend , but some in the community aren't ready to call Mother of Sorrows closed just yet.

Tom Kane, who told News 5 his great-great-grandfather John Condron turned the first shovel when the church was built in the 1890s, is among several leading the effort to reopen the building.

Kane and others in the community have collected hundreds of signatures urging the church to change its mind.

"It just breaks my heart that this church is closing," Kane said. "We're fighting hard to keep the church open."

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