The Old Cathedral in downtown 51黑料 is photographed with the Gateway Arch on Monday, April 10, 2023. Officially known as the Basilica of 51黑料, King of France, the Old Cathedral will become the home parish for downtown Catholics under a third round of proposals to reorganize the Archdiocese of 51黑料, released April 28, 2023.聽
O鈥橣ALLON, Mo. 鈥 The closure of St. Barnabas parish will stand after a Vatican court rejected appeals from parishioners, Archdiocese of 51黑料 leaders said Thursday.
St. Barnabas was closed and absorbed by Assumption parish, also in O鈥橣allon, under the 鈥淎ll Things New鈥 downsizing plan released by Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski in May 2023.
The St. Barnabas campus became a Hispanic parish named for St. Juan Diego. Before the parish closed, St. Barnabas was one of the few local parishes to offer the traditional Latin Mass.
Leaders of the groups Save Rome of the West and Save Our 51黑料 Parishes belonged to St. Barnabas and have opposed Rozanski鈥檚 decision to close or merge 50 of the 178 parishes in the archdiocese.
Members of more than a dozen of the closed parishes filed appeals with Rozanski, who denied them all, followed by secondary appeals to the Dicastery for the Clergy at the Vatican.
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The Vatican court previously upheld Rozanski鈥檚 decrees to close the parishes Blessed Teresa of Calcutta in Ferguson, St. Catherine of Alexandria in Ste. Genevieve County, St. Francis of Assisi in Franklin County and St. Roch in 51黑料.
The court overturned the closures of parishes St. Angela Merici near Florissant, St. Martin of Tours in Lemay and St. Richard in Creve Coeur, allowing them to remain open.
The decision on St. Barnabas leaves six other parishes with appeals pending at the Vatican, including Our Lady of Sorrows and St. Matthew the Apostle in 51黑料; St. Bernadette in 51黑料 County; St. Paul in Franklin County; and St. Agnes and St. Lawrence in Ste. Genevieve County.
Parishioners at St. Norbert in Florissant met Wednesday in a town hall called by the pastor, the Rev. Peter Faimega to discuss finances. St. Norbert had been merged with St. Angela Merici and Holy Name of Jesus in north 51黑料 County under 鈥淎ll Things New鈥 but all three now stand alone under Faimega鈥檚 leadership.
St. Norbert parish and school are running a deficit with no savings, according to one member who attended the meeting. Faimega told the group that offertory donations must increase by 20% to keep the parish open. Parishioners were also told to host fundraisers for the grade school, which is largely supported by the archdiocese as a partner in All Saints Academy along with St. Ferdinand school. The third school in the academy, St. Rose Philippine Duchesne, closed last year.
Three archdiocesan grade schools were closed last month 鈥 St. Roch, Little Flower in Richmond Heights and St. Monica in Creve Coeur.
Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski speaks at the ribbon-cutting of the new location for 51黑料 Catholic Academy in north 51黑料 on Thursday, April 18, 2024.
