When Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski came to ºüÀêÊÓƵ in August 2020 to lead the more than 400,000 Catholics in this region, one of his first meetings was with a group of young priests.
They told him something that brought back memories of his hometown of Baltimore. “They were expressing their concerns that they were ordained to serve people,†Rozanski told me in a recent interview. “They had become caretakers of buildings versus ministers to people.â€
For 60 years, the Catholic Church in ºüÀêÊÓƵ has mirrored its city, with a decline in population and a move of the congregation away from some historic buildings that cost a tremendous amount to maintain. As a young priest, Rozanski served two parishes that were within three blocks of each other in south Baltimore, a city that shares many characteristics with ºüÀêÊÓƵ. Some of the nine buildings in the complex were of pre-Civil War construction.
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“Their concerns resonated with my experience as a young pastor,†Rozanski says.
Now, nearly two years later, Rozanski is about to lead the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Archdiocese on a mission to remake itself, in a process intended to reinvigorate the faithful, restructure the concept of a parish, and move resources around in a way that makes more sense as congregations have migrated away from their historic immigrant neighborhoods.
Called and unveiled in Catholic parishes in ºüÀêÊÓƵ this week, the process is sure to have an impact on the entire region as, eventually, some church buildings, parishes and schools are closed or merged, and the church seeks to reinvigorate its congregations into evangelizing to its neighbors.
“A vibrant Catholic Church leads to a vibrant community, which leads to a vibrant city,†says the Rev. Chris Martin, one of those young priests Rozanski met with. He is helping to plan this yearslong effort of prayer, reflection and transformation.
Martin offers some numbers to help explain the problem the archdiocese faces. There are about 30,000 Catholics in the area that encompasses south ºüÀêÊÓƵ city and county, Martin says, with 26 priests to serve them. In Cottleville and Dardenne Prairie, in St. Charles County, there are about the same number of Catholics served by just six priests. About half of the Catholics in the Archdiocese are concentrated into 27 parishes; the other half are spread among 151 parishes.
There are currently about 200 full-time priests in the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Archdiocese to serve 178 parishes. Martin says the number of priests is expected to dip to 150 by 2030, and 130 one decade later.
“If we don’t do the planning, the planning is going to be done for us,†Martin says.
That process will kick off with hundreds of listening sessions this fall, with the archdiocese offering early looks at what the new blueprint of parishes might look like. The church is using a consultant, the , which has helped archdioceses in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh go through similar processes. In Cincinnati, for instance, the archdiocese reorganized 208 parishes into 60 “families of parishes.â€
Rozanski hasn’t been in ºüÀêÊÓƵ long, but he knows that the deep sense of parochialism and historic neighborhood connection here will make that process difficult for some Catholics. That model served the church well more than a century ago, Rozanski says, but it’s broken now, and the church needs to refocus its mission on the people it serves.
“We are still relying on a model of church that is based on 18th century European immigration patterns,†Rozanski says. “That model is over. … What we’re taking the time to do is assess where we are as a church right now, and what do we need to do to better evangelize.â€
That word — evangelize — is rooted in the Catholic tradition, Rozanski says, to “go and make disciples of Christ,†but is not something the Catholic Church has been very good at in recent decades. It needs to learn from some of its Christian brethren, he says, who do a better job of simply meeting people where they are and offering them a path to faith.
It’s one reason why the archbishop was at the event at the International Institute earlier this month, as civic leaders look for ways to welcome more Afghan immigrants to the city. The church can play a role in that process, Rozanski says, and it shouldn’t be tied to a specific neighborhood or parochial interest.
“These discussions will affect our church for the next 50 to 75 years,†Rozanski says of what he knows will be some tough conversations in the next couple of years. “We’re a church, so we won’t just go by the numbers. We’ll go by the mission.â€