Metro Detroit Catholics Learn Fate of Their Parishes

By Patricia Montemurri
Detroit Free Press
February 19, 2012

http://www.freep.com/article/20120218/NEWS05/120218024/Metro-Detroit-Catholics-learn-fate-their-parishes?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

Catholics attending weekend mass late this afternoon began to learn the fate of their parishes, as pastors announced decisions made by Archbishop Allen Vigneron to close or merge some parishes to deal with an escalating priest shortage, population shifts and financial shortfalls.

At Our Lady of Fatima parish in Oak Park, the Rev. Paul Chateau told parishioners at 4:30 p.m. mass that Vigneron decided that the Oak Park parish should merge with St. James in Ferndale by mid-2013. Even as a merged parish, it appears both churches could stay open as long as there is a pastor available, or until either one incurred an operating deficit. The directive also said the merged Our Lady of Fatima/St. James parish should also collaborate with nearby Our Lady of LaSalette in Berkley if need be for a further merger down the road.

All three churches, Vigneron said, need to submit a contingency plan that could include closing church buildings and selling the property, if “a current pastor is no longer available, if a replacement is not available or assigned, or when one of these parishes begins to experience a net operating deficit,” according to Vigneron’s directive.

"I don't know how exactly this is going to play out. They didn't give me a script," Chateau told about 170 parishioners. "We are a loving, prayerful and welcoming community. I propose to try and carry on." Chateau said.

The congregation applauded Chateau's comments and as parishioners began to exit, one woman said: "We're not going anywhere."

Ruth Frazier, 79, of Royal Oak and a parishioner at Fatima since 1953, echoed that sentiment.

"We love our pastor. He's our sacred glue that holds us together and we're not going anywhere," said Frazier.

Chateau read to his parishioners exactly what Vigneron's directive said:

"In early 2012, Our Lady of Fatima and St. James are to move forward as cluster partners to develop cluster plans to be submitted...by June 30, 2012. Once clustered, the parishes will develop plans to merge within one year. Once this merger takes place, the merged parish made up of Our Lady of Fatima/St. James will become a cluster partner with Our Lady of LaSalette (in Berkley). These parishes will immediately develop a cluster plan....The cluster plan should be implemented when a current pastor is no longer available, if a replacement is not available to be assigned, or when any of these parishes begin to expereince a net operating deficit," Vigneron's directive stated.

It continued by saying: "Plans should commence with models for initial collaboration and include contingency plans for programming, outreach and administration; for clustering/merging the parishes and/or closing buildings and planning for the sale of property."

Chateau has been pastor at Our Lady of Fatima for 40 years. In its heyday, the parish had 1500 families, The parish now has about 300 families, said Chateau. Its sanctuary displays pieces of a huge, stained glass that was salvaged from an eastside Detroit church, St. Thomas the Apostle, demolished after it was shuttered during the first round of Detroit-area church closings some 25 years ago.

Until the Archdiocese of Detroit makes all of Vigneron’s decisions public late Monday on its website, most Catholics will learn about their parish’s circumstances at weekend mass.

Pastors found out mid-week about Vigneron’s decisions regarding their parishes and were instructed to share it with parishioners at weekend masses. In addition, the archdiocese mailed out letters explaining Vigneron’s decisions to 270,000 Catholic households across the six-county archdiocese.

Vigneron will hold a press conference at 4 p.m. Monday before all his decisions are made public Monday evening on the archdiocese’s website at www.aodonline.org.

Late last fall, Vigneron said the church realignments could result in as many as 48 of about 270 parishes being closed within the next five years. But that number is likely to drop based on Vigneron rejecting some closure recommendations made to him by an Archdiocesan Pastoral Council in November.

For example, Vigneron spared from the chopping block the eastside Detroit parishes of Nativity, Good Shepherd, St. Augustine/St. Monica and St. Charles Borromeo. The rejected recommendation for those parishes was to merge them, close them and build one new environmentally-friendly church for the E. Jefferson corridor.

The archdiocese says that 35 percent of parishes in Detroit, Hamtramck and Highland Park are having problems paying their bills; as well as 20 percent in the suburbs.

Moreover, the archdiocese says it will have about 100 fewer priests in 10 years available to work at parishes. The archdiocese ordains roughly four priests a year. It has about 290 priests now working in parishes, and their average age is 57.

Some 270 parishes across the archdiocese participated in a review process, assessing their finances and demographic shifts. Several parishes, through the review process, decided to close or merge soon on their own.

In November, the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council revealed that parish councils of several suburban parishes had decided to close or merge in coming months or years. They include St. Donald in Roseville to close in mid-2012; St. Maurice and St. Genevieve in Livonia to merge and close St. Maurice; St. Anthony (Lithuanian) in Detroit to close and merge with Divine Providence (Lithuanian) in Southfield; St. Elizabeth to merge with St. Joseph in Wyandotte; St. Stanislaus Kostka will close and merge with Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Wyandotte; Our Lady Queen of Peace in Harper Woods to close; and Our Lady of Lourdes in River Rouge and St. Francis Xavier in Ecorse to merge into worship site.

If you have learned whether Archbishop Allen Vigneron has decided whether your church should close or merge, please let us know. You can post to our Facebook wall at www.facebook.com/detroitfreepress. You can post to Twitter using the hashtag #DetroitCatholicChurches. You can contact Patricia Montemurri at pmontemurri@freepress.com or 313-223-4538.