The Cincinnati Archdiocese plan to reorganize the region's Catholic parishes is final and ready to go.Since the initial draft earlier this fall, "Beacons of Light," as the new plan is called, has undergone some changes.Those modifications will be released on Sunday when Archbishop Dennis Schnurr addresses the congregation about it during his homily at 11 a.m. mass in the St. Peter-in-Chains Cathedral, downtown.His summation will follow weeks of revisions based on comments and suggestions from priests and nearly 8,000 parishioners in the Catholic community.Many of them wonder what will happen to large, architecturally significant edifices like St. Francis DeSales, the 19th-century Gothic home of the largest swinging bell ever cast in the country — or to St. Lawrence Church on the west side where regular mass attendance has dropped significantly over the years. With a declining number of priests in the Archdiocese and projections that the problem will only worsen in the decades ahead, 208 parishes must cluster or consolidate into 60 families or groups.When redrawn maps surface Sunday, people will know if churches like St. Rose will remain grouped with four other churches or not and the concern is not limited to houses of worship, but to school buildings as well."That was a high one where people had a lot of questions about schools," said Jennifer Schack, Director of Communications for the Cincinnati Archdiocese. "And although many of those answers will be determined based within the Family of Parishes once those are implemented, there were some things that we have already addressed and have been rolling out to the faithful with answers to their questions."Sunday will not provide answers about which churches and schools might close.As priests are reassigned next Spring and the reorganization takes effect next summer, the parishes themselves will determine what's affordable and viable and what's not.The churchgoers will hear directly from the Archbishop in a recorded message that will be played at all parish masses this Sunday.In addition, Schnurr has written a letter to the churchgoers that will be released at the same time.Schack knows none of this will be easy to accept because of the deep affinity people have for their pastors and their parishes.She said the Archdiocese recognizes the stress this will cause to many people. "We're going to be asking the faithful to do things we haven't done before," she said. "And that we're going to be asking of our pastors to lead in a way that we have not done before."That will involve major decisions about changing mass times, about which programs to keep, and ultimately what to do about the church and school buildings that no longer attract the numbers they once did. In his remarks on Sunday, Archbishop Schnurr intends to emphasize the necessity of what's being done and the importance of embracing the changes.As he said recently, "We cannot escape the conclusion that in many cases our church buildings are grossly underutilized."
The Cincinnati Archdiocese plan to reorganize the region's Catholic parishes is final and ready to go.
Since the initial draft earlier this fall, "Beacons of Light," as the new plan is called, has undergone some changes.
Those modifications will be released on Sunday when Archbishop Dennis Schnurr addresses the congregation about it during his homily at 11 a.m. mass in the St. Peter-in-Chains Cathedral, downtown.
His summation will follow weeks of revisions based on comments and suggestions from priests and nearly 8,000 parishioners in the Catholic community.
Many of them wonder what will happen to large, architecturally significant edifices like St. Francis DeSales, the 19th-century Gothic home of the largest swinging bell ever cast in the country — or to St. Lawrence Church on the west side where regular mass attendance has dropped significantly over the years.
With a declining number of priests in the Archdiocese and projections that the problem will only worsen in the decades ahead, 208 parishes must cluster or consolidate into 60 families or groups.
When redrawn maps surface Sunday, people will know if churches like St. Rose will remain grouped with four other churches or not and the concern is not limited to houses of worship, but to school buildings as well.
"That was a high one where people had a lot of questions about schools," said Jennifer Schack, Director of Communications for the Cincinnati Archdiocese. "And although many of those answers will be determined based within the Family of Parishes once those are implemented, there were some things that we have already addressed and have been rolling out to the faithful with answers to their questions."
Sunday will not provide answers about which churches and schools might close.
As priests are reassigned next Spring and the reorganization takes effect next summer, the parishes themselves will determine what's affordable and viable and what's not.
The churchgoers will hear directly from the Archbishop in a recorded message that will be played at all parish masses this Sunday.
In addition, Schnurr has written a letter to the churchgoers that will be released at the same time.
Schack knows none of this will be easy to accept because of the deep affinity people have for their pastors and their parishes.
She said the Archdiocese recognizes the stress this will cause to many people.
"We're going to be asking the faithful to do things we haven't done before," she said. "And that we're going to be asking of our pastors to lead in a way that we have not done before."
That will involve major decisions about changing mass times, about which programs to keep, and ultimately what to do about the church and school buildings that no longer attract the numbers they once did.
In his remarks on Sunday, Archbishop Schnurr intends to emphasize the necessity of what's being done and the importance of embracing the changes.
As he said recently, "We cannot escape the conclusion that in many cases our church buildings are grossly underutilized."
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