Workers continued to remove the steeple of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church Tuesday, using cutting tools to take apart the structure as a first step in the demolition of the 91-year-old church. The dome on the steeple, and the cross that sat on top of it, were removed Monday. Workers are expected to take down the steeple and higher levels of the church in small pieces for safety reasons.

Once the building is lowered to a safe level an excavating machine will be brought in to pull down the rest of it. The church is is being demolished after it was decided by the Worcester Roman Catholic Diocese that the cost to repair it from years of deterioration would be too expensive, and shrinking church attendance had led to consolidation of parishes. Efforts by parishioners to raise money and fight the demolition in court were unsuccessful.