WNNE-TV, VT
May 12 2004
Developer Hopes To Buy Church To Give To Other Church
NASHUA, N.H. — A real estate developer plans to buy a Catholic
church for $1 million and then donate the property to the Armenian
Orthodox Church.
Vatche Manoukian, of Hollis, N.H., has entered an agreement with the
Catholic Diocese of Manchester to buy St. Francis Xavier Church and
give the property as a gift to his church, said Manoukian’s lawyer,
Gerald Prunier.
The sale faces several obstacles, however, including a lawsuit filed by
former St. Francis Xavier parishioners who argue that church officials
have no right to sell the property. A century-old deed at the center
of the debate states that the property must always hold a place of
religious observance.