Archdiocese Announces Parish Mergers in Philadelphia and Delaware County Resulting from Pastoral Planning Initiative

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia
June 2, 2013

http://archphila.org/press%20releases/pr002178.php

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced today that Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. has reviewed recommendations of the Archdiocesan Strategic Planning Committee and made decisions to merge parishes in Philadelphia and Delaware County.

These mergers are the result of ongoing restructuring that will ultimately strengthen parish communities throughout the Archdiocese positioning them for future growth and sustainability. It is hoped that the result will be revitalized parishes throughout the Archdiocese that are better equipped to meet the spiritual and pastoral needs of future generations.

The recommendations and resulting mergers are an outcome of the Archdiocesan-wide Parish Pastoral Planning Area initiative, which began in 2011. Parishioners at all affected parishes learned of the final decisions through letters mailed to all registered parishioners as well as announcements made at all Masses this weekend.

The mergers announced today were based on a combination of factors, including, but not limited to, demographic shifts in Catholic populations, concentrated density of parishes in a limited geographic area, history of declining Mass attendance and sacramental activity, increasing economic challenges that threaten sustainability, a decrease in the availability of clergy to staff parishes and a review of facilities.

In each instance of a merger, parishioners will attend daily and Sunday Mass at the church of the newly formed parish. The church of the former parish will remain open and be maintained as a worship site. At the discretion of the pastor, this site will be utilized for weddings, funerals and feast days, as well as traditional and ethnic devotions for the time being. Sunday Mass may also be celebrated at a worship site at the discretion of the pastor and the newly formed pastoral council.

Additionally, all parish property, assets and debts of the former parish will be assumed by the newly created parish, which will also be responsible for the care of all sacramental records. The pastors from the merging parishes will form a transitional team made up of lay leaders from each of the merging parishes to assist in moving forward with building the new parish community. The Archdiocese will provide ongoing guidance and support during the transition process.

The Archdiocesan Strategic Planning Committee, made up of lay persons, priests and Archdiocesan personnel, is examining all parishes within the Archdiocese to gauge their viability and assess whether they possess the resources to accomplish their role in the mission of the Church while remaining sustainable and vibrant faith communities. Parishes within each pastoral planning area will continue to carefully and thoughtfully examine their viability in order to make future recommendations. Additional parishes are expected to begin the process of study in the Fall of 2013.

Parish Area Pastoral Planning is designed to be as collaborative and consultative as possible. Its goal is to provide pastors, after consulting their parish leadership, with the opportunity to dialogue with members of the Strategic Planning Committee in providing joint recommendations to the Archbishop for growth and sustainability within their respective geographic areas. Additionally, in the majority of cases, the regional bishop and the dean meet with the pastors as well as their pastoral and finance councils to hear their concerns and receive their recommendations.

The Archdiocesan Strategic Planning Committee shares all final proposals with the Council of Priests and the College of Consultors for their review before final approval by the Archbishop.

When the mergers detailed below become effective there will be 236 parishes in the five-county Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The pastors assigned to all of the newly formed parishes resulting from this round of mergers were announced this week with the regular priest personnel assignments. A complete list of those assignments can be found at www.CatholicPhilly.com.

*It is important to note that the effective date listed for these mergers is set for Canonical (Church law) purposes. The actual work of the transition to a new parish community is an ongoing one that will take varying lengths of time dependent upon the unique circumstances of each merger and needs of each parish. The Archdiocese will provide ongoing guidance and support to all parishes throughout the transitional process.*

*The statistics presented below do not represent the whole of parish life. They were only one part of the larger picture when developing recommendations for parish mergers. They do, however, provide a snapshot of a parish's sacramental activity and a gauge to project stability, growth or decline.*