by august 2004, multiple parishes had begun to protest the announcements, refusing to close. father coyne received a standing ovation after his final mass at the church on september 1. boston globe reporter bella english reported at the time:"kleenex boxes dotted every pew. worshipers lined the outer aisles, stood in the back, crowded into the foyer and spilled onto the front steps."during that last mass, a member of the parish board read a statement expressing gratitude to father coyne, saying:“we will no longer blindly follow the mandates set down by the institution. we now understand that we are the church and we are followers of christ and not the archdiocese of boston.”after mass, a group of parishioners announced a 'perpetual vigil,' and retreated into the basement to begin their occupation. shifts were assigned, but food and water were stored in case safe access to the building was blocked. occupiers entertained themselves with knitting, coffee, and camaraderie. media flocked to the church to report on the occupiers. parishioners filed a civil lawsuit against the archdiocese of boston arguing that the archdiocese did not own the church, but acted as its trustee. daily prayer services and rosaries were held. later, priestless communion services were held, which is officially considered blasphemy within the catholic church. the occupiers were receiving consecrated hosts from sympathetic but anonymous nearby priests. the parishioners protested the closure and argued it was unjustified, citing their secure finances, high mass attendance, dynamic adult and children's groups, and donations to charity. archdiocese of boston spokesman father christopher coyne told the new york times in september 2004 that st. albert the great would not be allowed open, and that it would be more difficult for the archdiocese to allow it now, because it would imply that the way to reverse a closure decision is "to sue the archdiocese and occupy the church," and implied that other factors came into play, such as st. albert's lack of a school. he then stated:"we're downsizing because we just can't continue to maintain the number of churches in the entire archdiocese. we just don't need five churches in weymouth. they are the smallest church. we're doing this all across the archdiocese and they are not alone."as of october 2004, 29 parishes were officially closed. fifty-nine parishes had closed by may 2005. st albert the great and dozens of others remained occupied, engulfed in civil lawsuits, or awaiting appeal decisions from the vatican. by june 2005, 15 appeals had been sent to the vatican by parishes, nine churches were being occupied, and several more were bringing civil lawsuits to the archdiocese. the council of parishes was formed to represent the interests of occupied parishes and those resisting closure, made up of parishioners from 16 parishes on the original closure list.