![]() The archdiocese covers about 8,500 square miles of cities, suburbs and farmland, so the task of consolidating more than 200 parishes was daunting. Some are growing and in good financial shape, while others are losing people and money. “We’re very sensitive to the fact that change is difficult,” Schnurr said.įurther complicating matters are the legal and financial logistics of bringing together parishes with different populations, facilities, traditions, leadership and bank accounts. ![]() From schools and sports teams to festivals and fish fries, parishes have bound generations of Catholics together.Ĭhurch officials have learned from previous parish and school mergers that tinkering with that bond can stir anger and anxiety. Parishes are not only the center of spiritual life for Catholics but also often the heart of social and cultural life. The archbishop acknowledged, however, that many Catholics will be wary of the coming change. He said he believes Beacons of Light will revitalize all the archdiocese’s parishes, allowing them to combine operations, share financial resources and create more opportunities for Catholics to engage fully with their faith. “The way our parishes are functioning in this archdiocese, it just is not sustainable any longer,” Schnurr said in a video posted on the archdiocese’s website. Schnurr said the reorganization is needed because of a decades-long decline in the number of priests, and because of demographic changes that have left some churches and schools stranded in areas with falling Catholic populations. Mergers of such magnitude, which could take years to complete, would eliminate more than 70% of parishes that exist today, transforming the archdiocese and setting the stage for the possible closure of churches and schools. The goal, church officials say, is to eventually unite the 60 new parish families into single parishes.Ĭheck the database: How will your parish be affected? Unlike past attempts to remake the archdiocese, which rarely got out of the planning stages, Beacons of Light is backed by Archbishop Dennis Schnurr and will in some way touch almost every Catholic and priest in the archdiocese’s 19 counties. Known as Beacons of Light, the restructuring process will combine the archdiocese’s 208 parishes into 60 “families of parishes,” which will begin sharing priests and resources as early as next year.
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