Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh announces parish reductions
PITTSBURGH – The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh informed its congregants Saturday it plans to greatly reduce the number of its parishes, including most of them in Washington and Greene counties.
The diocese intends on shrinking the number of parishes from 188 to 57 across a six-county region because of a shifting population, shortage of priests and people turning away from Mass, Bishop David A. Zubik said, adding there were no immediate plans to close churches.
“Until then, as we prepare to undertake these new models for parish life, I will rely on the cooperation, understanding and patience of all involved as we make this important decision,” Zubik said at a news conference at St. Paul Seminary in Pittsburgh’s East Carnegie neighborhood.
“I truly believe that change can bring new life and joy,” Zubik said.
The changes were also announced at Saturday Masses, and they will require many of the new parish groupings to make difficult decisions as to which church buildings they can afford to keep open in the years to come. The new groupings will take place in mid-October, when new clergy assignments and Mass schedules also will take effect.
In Washington County, the parishes in Monongahela, Donora and Charleroi were placed in the same grouping. Those churches will have two years to make a recommendation for restructuring and will also need to submit three suggestions for a new parish name.
A parish in Bentleyville, St. Katharine Drexel, has already completed the task of reorganizing. It has three worship sites and three with occasional uses in the Mon Valley area.
The five parishes in Greene County have been moved into one grouping, and they also will have two years to decide a restructuring plan, diocesan documents show.
St. Mary in Cecil has been grouped with two churches in Bridgeville and that group also has to meet the first deadline of 2020.
St. Benedict the Abbot in Peters Township and St. Francis of Assisi in Finleyville have been grouped with St. Isaac Jogues in Jefferson Hills, Allegheny County. This grouping also must meet the 2020 deadline.
Immaculate Conception and St. Hilary in Washington are in the same grouping with a 2021 deadline to recommend a restructuring plan.
A new grouping includes churches in McDonald, Bulger, Imperial, Avella, Burgettstown and North Fayette Township, with those also having a 2021 deadline to make restructuring recommendations.
Other churches in Canonsburg, Muse and Meadow Lands have been moved into a grouping with the 2021 deadline.
Zubik initially said in May 2017, the 188 parishes would be divided into 49 groups. The number of groupings changed to 48 in September. He said Saturday the number was increased to 57 because some of the groupings had too many churches in them. At one time, the Pittsburgh region had 344 parishes, he said.
The diocese currently has 200 priests and that number will drop to 125 in seven years, Zubik said.
He said the diocese does not have a goal on how many of its 225 church buildings will close under the sweeping restructuring plan.
Some groupings might not see the shuttering of buildings if they can make a compelling case to keep them all, he said.
“I know that this change will require us – the faithful, the clergy and myself – to let go of some things that are precious and familiar,” Zubik said Saturday.
“I am also convinced that our clergy and faithful have what it takes to form deep and lasting relationships within their groupings and to create welcoming communities,” he said.
A digital version of Saturday’s announcement can be found at https://diopitt.org/onmission