I know this board is almost always concerning high school football but some sad news was announced a little while ago that is non football related. I hope this is acceptable at this off season time. Edgy I hope you don't mind.
The Diocese of Joliet announced today that five churches and two Catholic schools in Joliet and Crest Hill will be closing while five more churches will remain open but be consolidated into larger, combined parishes.
The announcement comes after a year and a half of work by the diocese to conduct a “targeted restructuring” campaign aimed at reducing costs for the diocese, which is facing decreasing attendance, staffing shortages, and mounting expenses from aging facilities.
The five churches that will be closed are.... St. Bernard, St. Anthony, St. Jude, and Sacred Heart, all in Joliet and St. Anne in Crest Hill.
Due to the consolidation of their respective churches, St. Jude School and St. Paul the Apostle School will also close at the end of the 2023-2024 school year. A new combined school will reopen at the St. Paul the Apostle site in fall of 2024, welcoming students from St. Jude alongside students from the existing St. Paul the Apostle.
The church closures and combinations will bring the existing 16 parishes in the Joliet Deanery down to seven.
In the official statement released by the diocese if Joliet it was explained that the consolidations will take place within the three geographic parish groupings that were established in 2022.
Group One consisted of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, St. Joseph, St. Bernard, St. Mary Magdalene, and St. Anthony, all in Joliet.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel will remain its own parish and will not be altered. St. Joseph, St. Bernard, St. Mary Magdalene, and St. Anthony will be combined into one new parish with two worship sites. St. Mary Magdalene will serve as the main parish church while St. Joseph will be maintained as a secondary worship site.
Parish Group Two contained St. Paul the Apostle, St. Jude, St. Patrick, Sacred Heart, all in Joliet and St. Joseph (Rockdale).
Following the restructuring, all five parishes will combine into one new parish. St. Paul and St. Patrick will serve as the new parish’s worship sites, while St. Joseph (Rockdale) will be maintained as a mission under the supervision of the new parish.
St. Paul the Apostle School will absorb the the students from St. Jude School under a new name, according to the diocese. The new parish will also retain Sacred Heart’s African American liturgy and community outreach program and will expand its Hispanic ministry by including more Spanish language masses and sacraments, according to the diocese.
Group Three includes the Cathedral of St. Raymond in Joliet — the diocesan seat —, as well St. John the Baptist, St. Mary Nativity, Holy Cross, all in Joliet, and St. Ambrose and St. Anne, both in Crest Hill.
The Cathedral of St. Raymond will remain unchanged “for the time being” as will its affiliated school, the diocese said, but it will also begin work to expand its Hispanic ministry and Spanish language offerings.
St. John the Baptist will remain in its current configuration, until if and when the Franciscans are no longer able to sufficiently manage and staff it, the diocese plan states. At that time, it will be absorbed by St. Raymond and a decision will be made determining if it will remain as a secondary worship site or be closed.
Holy Cross Parish will become a mission under the supervision of St. Mary Nativity Church. St. Mary Nativity’s church and school operations will continue unchanged, the diocese said.
Holy Cross church will be able to continue offering Polish language masses, Polish school, and other Polish language ministries, according to the plan.
St. Ambrose and St. Anne will combine into one parish with St. Ambrose serving as the parish church, and St. Anne will close.
Operations at the closing parishes will continue as usual through June 30, including the scheduling of baptisms, weddings, first communions, confirmations, and funerals, however no services will be scheduled beyond June 30.
All parishes will be encouraged to hold final, closing masses before June 30. New mass schedules will be determined by the new pastors and transition teams and will be implemented after July 1.
I feel sad for parishioners at the parishes that are closing. Some have had multi generational families as a part of these parishes. My prayers go out to all.
www.foxsports.com
theathletic.com
