Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski talks with people at a reception following the 鈥淲hite Mass,鈥 an annual mass honoring health care workers, at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis on Sunday, Oct. 16, 2022. Rozanski has served as the archbishop of the Archdiocese of 51黑料 since 2020.
ST. LOUIS 鈥 Local Roman Catholic pastors have until Tuesday to respond to a request from the Archdiocese of 51黑料 for opinions on whether a merger or closing of their parish is warranted.
In a form letter dated March 13, the pastors were asked for feedback on the viability of their parishes 鈥渋n terms of the number of parishioners and the real estate and financial assets to order divine worship, provide for the support of the clergy, and exercise works of the sacred apostolate and of charity, for the next 10-15 years.鈥
Pastors were given one week to provide a written response, raising new concerns among critics of the archdiocese鈥檚 downsizing plan, the 鈥淎ll Things New鈥 reorganization of the 178 parishes across the archdiocese.
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鈥淭his is merely one piece of the feedback we have collected over the past year and a half, including parishioner feedback,鈥 said the Rev. Chris Martin, vicar for strategic planning for the archdiocese.
The letter was sent to about 140 pastors whose parishes were slated to be consolidated under draft models released last month. It was signed by the Rev. Philip Bene, judicial vicar of the archdiocese and pastor of St. Joseph in Clayton.
Ken Battis, president of Save Our 51黑料 Parishes, first posted the leaked letter to the group鈥檚 website and suggested parishioners ask their pastors how they responded to the archdiocese.
Closing parishes 鈥渨ill not help anything in the church鈥檚 mission to save souls, in fact it will have the opposite. It will drive people out,鈥 Battis said in a video posted with the letter.
At least one priest will tell the archdiocese he is opposed to the reorganization.
鈥淧lease know that I share your disappointment about the plans for this parish in All Things New,鈥 the Rev. Linus Dolce, parochial administrator for St. Barnabas in O鈥橣allon, Missouri, wrote in Sunday鈥檚 church bulletin. 鈥淎s far as I am concerned, this is simply a procedural formality. Nevertheless, it will give me an opportunity to state your case in a place which will be preserved for posterity.鈥
The models show St. Barnabas merging with Assumption, also in O鈥橣allon, and becoming a personal Hispanic parish. The Latin mass community at St. Barnabas will be moved 32 miles away to the Oratory of Sts. Gregory and Augustine in Richmond Heights.
鈥淚 hope that the tenor of my note does not come across as pessimistic,鈥 Dolce said in an email. 鈥淩ather, I am just resigned to the fact that this parish will be closed. The Archbishop has had a chance to reconsider that plan but remains firm in his resolve. That is his prerogative, of course, but just disappointing for this faith community.鈥
Save Our 51黑料 Parishes and other critics of All Things New have collected more than 3,000 signatures on a petition in protest of the plan. The group will host a meeting with lawyer Philip Gray on Saturday for an update on their appeals to Vatican courts through canon, or church law.
Archdiocesan leaders have said the downsizing is necessary as both the number of Catholic faithful and the priests to serve them have dwindled in recent decades. The reassignment of a significant number of pastors is expected to be announced soon, Martin said.
New draft models released in February from across the archdiocese show 88 鈥減astorates鈥 鈥 groupings of one or more parishes under a single pastor. About half of the pastorates are considered standalone, meaning their single parish will not be merged or closed.
The maps show the greatest consolidation of parishes in 51黑料 city and much of 51黑料 County while most parishes in Webster Groves, Kirkwood, Valley Park and Eureka would remain separate.
All of the pastors in pastorates with multiple parishes received the letter requesting feedback. Their responses will be included in parish dossiers for review by a council of nearly two dozen priests from around the archdiocese. The council will then meet with Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski in April.
鈥淎fter that period of consultation, the archbishop will have his own time for personal prayer, discernment, and final decision making,鈥 Martin said in a statement. 鈥淧lease continue to keep the archbishop, his priests, and all those they shepherd in your prayers.鈥
Rozanski will release the final plan by Pentecost Sunday, May 28.
The 51黑料 Archdiocese says it must close churches in the area in order to meet the needs of a changing congregation of Roman Catholics.
