Diocese changes will affect all county Catholic churches
The 188 parishes that make up the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh will be consolidated into 57 multi-site parishes by the end of 2023, Bishop David Zubik announced Saturday.
The reorganization plan, known as “On Mission for the Church Alive!” will affect every Catholic church in Butler County. Zubik did not order any churches to close, though leadership at each parish over the next several years must decide how to best use their buildings and what they will call themselves.
The process of studying changes in the diocese, which serves 632,138 Catholics in Butler, Lawrence, Allegheny, Beaver, Washington and Greene counties, started in 2015. A commission of more than 30 clergy and lay leaders from throughout the diocese proposed a consolidation to 48 parishes, though Zubik settled on 57 groupings, according to a news release.
“For the past three years, we have labored to discover how best to position our parishes for the future. We have been called to respond to the reality that populations in our region have shifted, that many Catholics have drifted away from Mass, and that we will have fewer priests. These realities are opportunities for us to think about and create new ways to share and mobilize our resources to draw people deeper into the faith and serve those in need,” Zubik said in the release.
The diocese grouped the new parishes into three categories. Many of the struggling parishes must complete the merger process by 2020, while others will have until the end of 2021 or 2023.
In Butler County, the following existing parishes will be grouped together to form a new parish:
St. Paul, St. Peter and St. Michael the Archangel in Butler, plus St. Andrew in Center Township and St. Fidelis in Meridian by 2021
Mater Dolorosa and St. Joseph in Chicora and St. Wendelin near East Butler by 2021
St. John in Coylesville, St. Joseph in Cabot and St. Mary of the Assumption in Herman by 2021
St. Alphonsus in West Sunbury, St. Christopher on the Lake in Prospect and St. Peter in Slippery Rock by 2021
St. Ferdinand in Cranberry Township, St. Gregory in Zelienople and Holy Redeemer in Ellwood City by 2023
Holy Sepulcher in Middlesex Township and St. Kilian in Adams Township by 2023.
In addition to grouping parishes together, many priests will be reassigned to lead new parishes by Oct. 15. The diocese has also set a maximum number of services for each parish grouping and the new schedules will also go into effect in October.Parishioners attending Mass at each of the 188 parishes over the weekend were read a letter written by Zubik detailing the groupings and the changes to clergy. Reactions among Butler Countians were mixed.Several parishioners in the city of Butler described their church as being ahead of the curve.St. Peter, St. Paul and St. Michael the Archangel, all located within one mile of each other, are already unofficially joined as “Butler City Catholic Parishes.” They share clergy, a common website and services are scheduled as to not overlap.They will be grouped with St. Andrew in Center Township and St. Fidelis in Meridian, which includes the Catholic church in Lyndora.Despite living in the Lick Hill area of Summit Township, Connie Dittmer said she is a lifelong member of St. Peter because it is where her family has always gone to church.The Butler parishes, when they were established more than 100 years ago, were not based on serving neighborhoods but different ethnic groups, such as German, Irish or Italian immigrants, Dittmer said.The churches recently have been doing head counts during Mass to determine which times are the most popular. The grouping that includes the city parishes will have to reduce the number of services to 12 Masses.“They're not all full right now, so it's going to work out,” Dittmer said about having fewer Masses.Marie Yingling of Butler, a longtime member at St. Peter, said the need to consolidate is not surprising given the declining attendance and shortage of priests.“It's the state of our society. Unfortunately, the church is not the priority,” Yingling said.Yingling said that the change will be a good thing for the community, because Catholic leaders are placing an emphasis on evangelization and getting people more involved with their churches.“I have great hope for good things,” she said.Christine Morgan of Butler said she attends Mass weekly at St. Paul with her family. They have noticed the gradual drop in attendance, Morgan said.“It's sad, but it's a thing that had to be done,” she said of the mergers.Angie Bachman of Butler said she is fine with the bishop's plan. Bachman said she usually attends Mass at St. Michael, but her family sometimes goes to St. Paul or other parishes.“We're all Catholic parishes. The faith is the faith. It shouldn't matter who the priest is,” she said.Patti Erkman, a lifelong parishioner at St. Paul, said that the Rev. Harry Bielewicz, pastor for the three city parishes, will be missed once he is transferred elsewhere.“We are all very sad Father Harry is leaving — the whole Erkman family is sad to see him go,” she said.
