SHREWSBURY 鈥 The Archbishop of 狐狸视频 will close 34 parishes and one mission and reassign 155 priests in the most sweeping reorganization of the Catholic church in 狐狸视频 history.
After 18 months of waiting, Catholics learned on Saturday the fate of their priests and parishes in the downsizing of the archdiocese called 鈥淎ll Things New.鈥
The changes, which will reshape the archdiocese from 178 individual parishes into 135, were announced Saturday by Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski in a press conference and in a letter read by priests during vigil Mass.
鈥淚 wish these changes were not necessary, but it is what we are called to do at this moment,鈥 Rozanski said Saturday.
The archbishop maintained that the plan affects the entire region, although nearly half of the closures are in north 狐狸视频 and north 狐狸视频 County and only one, St. John Bosco in Maryland Heights, is west of Interstate 270 in 狐狸视频 County.
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鈥淭his is something that聽we聽need to do to ensure that our faith will be here for future generations,鈥 Rozanski said.
In addition to the parish closures, another 15 parishes will be merged to form five new parishes and a new Spanish-speaking parish, San Juan Diego, is being added in St. Charles County.
The parish closings and mergers do not necessarily mean that the church buildings associated with those parishes will also close; those decisions will be made later.
More details are expected in early June, including new Mass times and worship sites for merged parishes. Decisions on Catholic parish school closures or consolidations are expected this fall.
Parishioners have until聽June 12 to appeal the decisions to Rozanski through canon or church law.
鈥淢any parishes including ours are anxious and fearful about decisions about the future of our parishes and where we will be going to church and worshiping God in the months ahead,鈥 said the Rev. Robert Reiker, pastor of St. Bernadette in south 狐狸视频 County, during his homily Saturday.
At the end of the Mass, Reiker announced his retirement and said St. Bernadette parish will close and be 鈥渟ubsumed鈥 by St. Mark parish, 3 miles away near Lemay. St. Mark will also absorb St. Andrew, St. Martin of Tours and St. Matthias in south 狐狸视频 County.
鈥淚 felt at home here. It鈥檚 very small and down-to-earth,鈥 said Kathy Starns of Lemay, a parishioner at St. Bernadette for more than 15 years. 鈥淚 feel like I鈥檝e lost another home. I鈥檓 sad but I understand.鈥
At St. Martin de Porres in Hazelwood, the Rev. Lijo Kallarackal read announcements before turning to Rozanski鈥檚 letter.
鈥淭he next thing is what we鈥檙e all waiting for,鈥 Kallarackal said, prefacing the reading with the warning: 鈥淭here鈥檚 good news and bad news.鈥
The bad news: St. Martin de Porres and St. Sabina of Florissant will both be absorbed by St. Ferdinand of Florissant, effective Aug. 1. The good news: Kallarackal will become the new pastor of St. Ferdinand.
鈥淯nfortunately for you, they left me here as a pastor,鈥 he said with a broad smile, as parishioners applauded.聽聽
Close to 90 diocesan priests will serve as lead pastors who will serve one parish or several merged parishes, the archdiocese announced.
Some reassignments came as disappointments. Msgr. Mark Ullrich, longtime pastor of Sacred Heart in Florissant, told parishioners Saturday the decision was 鈥渧ery sad news for me.鈥
鈥淚 really planned on staying longer, having a lot of fun at it鈥. I had every intention of continuing as long as I could,鈥 he said.
The Rev. William Kempf of St. Justin Martyr in Sunset Hills will succeed Ullrich as pastor; Ullrich will go to St. Francis Assisi in Oakville as senior associate pastor. Ullrich said blending Florissant鈥檚 St. Rose Duchesne and Ferguson鈥檚 Blessed Teresa into a single parish would prove a challenge for his successor. All three parishes have schools.
Congregants at Epiphany of Our Lord in the Lindenwood Park neighborhood of south 狐狸视频 found out that they will remain at their location and share a new pastor with St. James the Greater in Dogtown.
A previous plan for the two parishes to also unite with St. Ambrose in the Hill neighborhood was dropped. Still, it will be a change.
鈥淚 feel like I understand,鈥 said Amy Tighe, walking out of Saturday evening Mass at Epiphany. 鈥淭here aren鈥檛 enough priests, and we鈥檝e got to share them. It鈥檚 going to be different, but I hope it works.鈥
Maggie O鈥橣allon felt a sense of relief.
鈥淚 am just happy that the church is staying here,鈥 said O鈥橣allon. 鈥淵ou鈥檇 hate to see something you鈥檝e been going to all your life close.鈥
Apart from growing up there, she and her husband, Jeff, were married at the church, raised two boys who attended the school before it closed.
鈥淚 am relieved that it鈥檚 over with, that the announcement has come after two years of surveys and talking,鈥 said Jeff O鈥橣allon. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e made their decision.鈥
A little further south, in the 狐狸视频 Hills neighborhood, parishioners at St. Gabriel the Archangel and St. Raphael the Archangel were told that they, too, would share the same pastor, which was expected.
There are four additional priests that serve the two parishes, which both have schools. That number of supporting priests will drop by one.
鈥淲e heard that because we are still financially solid we are able to maintain right now,鈥 said Suzy Ferrenbach,聽who lives across the street from St. Raphael and attends Mass there every day.
Congregants at St. Raphael were told to expect some possible changes to Mass times and that the big question about their school, which is smaller than St. Gabriel, wouldn鈥檛 be addressed until fall.
鈥淭he whole process for families with kids in the schools will be more challenging,鈥 said Dick Feld, coming out of Saturday evening Mass at St. Raphael. 鈥淎 single person like myself, it鈥檚 an easier adjustment.鈥
Downsizing in other cities
Other cities undergoing similar reorganizations offer keys to the future of parishes in 狐狸视频, including several dioceses that used the same consulting firm, Catholic Leadership Institute.
鈥 The 鈥淏eacons of Light鈥 plan in Cincinnati last year combined 208 parishes into 57 families of parishes along with 78 priest reassignments. The number of Sunday masses in the archdiocese dropped to 512 from 588. Mass attendance increased by 6% from 2021 to 2022, although still down 19% overall from 2019.
鈥 The Pittsburgh diocese combined 188 parishes into 57 groups in 2018 as part of its 鈥淥n Mission for the Church Alive鈥 strategic plan. In the five years since, most of the groups have merged to form 62 single parishes under new names 鈥渁s part of the ongoing effort designed to help parishes mobilize their resources to prioritize mission over maintenance,鈥澛燼ccording to the Pittsburgh diocese.
鈥 The 鈥淩enew My Church鈥澛燿ownsizing in Chicago started in 2016 and has since seen 344 parishes consolidate into around 200.
鈥淎ll Things New鈥澛爏tarted in 狐狸视频 in January 2022, when Rozanski announced the 18-month process that would bring 鈥渢he most sweeping changes鈥澛爄n the 200-year history of the Catholic church in 狐狸视频 amid declining numbers of Catholics attending Mass and priests to serve them.
The Catholic population in the region has fallen below 500,000 in 2021 for the first time in half a century. Pews are only about one-quarter full on Sundays.
Five men were ordained Saturday to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of 狐狸视频, down from an average of 18 ordinations a year in the 1960s. One of the new priests, the Rev. Jacob Wessel, was assigned as associate pastor at Ste. Genevieve parish in Ste. Genevieve County.
What comes next
Some priests and parishioners have started looking ahead to their new relationships. Parishioners from Our Lady of Lourdes in University City will gather on Monday for the annual 鈥淢ass on the Grass鈥澛燤emorial Day service at St. Luke the Evangelist in Richmond Heights, which is being absorbed by the University City parish.
The Rev. Linus Dolce, parochial administrator for St. Barnabas in O鈥橣allon, Missouri, wrote to his parishioners that he expects to 鈥渂ounce back to my monastery鈥澛燼fter St. Barnabas becomes a personal Hispanic parish called St. Juan Diego.
The last traditional Latin Mass at St. Barnabas will be held July 30, Dolce wrote in the May 21 bulletin. Parishioners are making arrangements to carpool starting in August to the closest Latin Mass, 32 miles away in Richmond Heights at the Oratory of Sts. Gregory and Augustine.
Outside the press conference Saturday, Jason Bolte of opposition group Save Rome of the West, read through the long list of decisions and priest reassignments.
鈥淭his is so sad,鈥澛爃e said.
He also lamented the plan to convert his home parish, St. Barnabas, to a Hispanic parish, which he saw as an attack on the traditional Latin Mass and wasn鈥檛 sure his group could challenge.
鈥淚 have to allow God to say that this is where he needs me right now,鈥澛爃e said. 鈥淵ou have to trust that God鈥檚 got it聽and we鈥檒l survive.鈥
At least one parish that remains unchanged is making plans for major renovations including a new parish hall that were put on hold during the 鈥淎ll Things New鈥澛爌rocess.
鈥淥ur challenge is not about needing to merge with another parish but to accommodate our prosperity and to address the limitations of our facilities,鈥澛爎eads a letter sent earlier this month to parishioners from聽the Rev. Matthew O鈥橳oole of St. Peter in Kirkwood.
Former state Sen. Bob Onder, R-Lake Saint Louis, has led an archdiocesan-wide protest as procurator, or representative, of the laity under church canon law. Onder sent petitions signed by more than 3,100 Catholics from at least 120 parishes to the Vatican earlier this month.
Onder鈥檚 parish, St. Gianna in Wentzville, will remain unchanged after an outcry from parishioners over earlier proposals involving mergers.
Some parishioners say they are optimistic about the prospect of fuller pews and stronger ministries.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 matter聽what building you鈥檙e in, what matters is your faith and growing in that desire to be closer to God and the Mass can help you do that,鈥澛爏aid Jennifer Crutchley, a 20-year member of St. John the Beloved Disciple in Imperial, which will share a pastor with St. Joseph in Imperial.
鈥淭he real work begins after Pentecost Sunday,鈥澛燙rutchley said. 鈥淚t needs to be the entire community pulling together. I鈥檓 hopeful that when the dust settles we can all come out stronger on the other end.鈥
Jesse Bogan, Austin Huguelet,聽Josh Renaud and Colleen Schrappen contributed to this report.
Updated on Wednesday, May 31, to clarify that the list of closings provided by the archdiocese included one mission, and the addition of a new Spanish-speaking parish in St. Charles County will reduce the total number of parishes after reorganization to 135.