10 parishes and one mission in Western New York to be merged into five parishes
as part of the Journey in Faith and Grace strategic planning
and spiritual revitalization process

The Diocese of Buffalo said today that 10 parishes and one mission will merge into five parishes, and one oratory will close as part of the Journey in Faith and Grace, a parish-based strategic planning and spiritual revitalization process launched in June 2005 by Most Rev. Edward U. Kmiec, bishop of Buffalo. These changes represent the first in a series of recommendations to reimagine parish life throughout the eight-counties of Western New York in response to changing times and emerging needs.

Announcement of the mergers and closing were delivered to affected parishioners at weekend Masses yesterday and today.

"This weekend we began communicating phase one of our parish restructuring," Bishop Kmiec said. "The Journey in Faith and Grace is an effort to create parish communities that are much more than a place where Sunday liturgy is celebrated. Our goal is to establish faith communities that provide formation programs for the sacraments, religious formation for both children and adults, and outreach to those in need. This restructuring will provide for even more lay involvement, good pastoral leadership, and financial stability.

"Pastors, men and women religious, and lay leaders representing all parishes in the diocese are arriving at the best solutions possible to meet the challenges we face so that we will have full and vibrant parish life for years to come," said Bishop Kmiec. "I have great empathy for the people of the diocese who will be impacted by this.

I know for many of our parishioners, this process has not been easy and has resulted in great emotion, but we would be remiss if we did not take these difficult but necessary steps. As with our Catholic elementary schools, this has been a very difficult decision for me. These parishes have a lot of history and a lot of memories that are very deeply personal to people who worshipped and received their sacraments there.

"The hard work of everyone involved, despite the pain and heartache, is coming to fruition, and we continue to pray that we will be open to God's spirit working among us in an effort to accomplish what God is calling us to do and to become."

Sister Regina Murphy, SSMN, diocesan director of research and planning, said the first round of changes are part of a detailed, inclusive and transparent process. She said today’s announcements were approved by the Diocesan Strategic Planning Commission and the Diocesan Council of Priests prior to being forwarded to Bishop Kmiec for his final approval.

"All parish recommendations are carefully evaluated in terms of demographic information, Catholic population analysis, sacramental and fiscal data, and pastoral planning," said Sister Regina. "In some cases, reconfiguration decisions included research and planning that predates the Journey."

The 10 parishes and one mission to merge are:

• St. John the Evangelist (Sinclairville) will merge into Immaculate Conception (Cassadaga)

• The Mission of St. Patrick (Crittenden) will merge into St. Francis of Assisi Parish (Corfu)

• St. Mary (East Arcade) and Blessed Sacrament (Delevan) will merge into SS. Peter & Paul (Arcade), to be known henceforth as St. Mary

• St. Elizabeth (Buffalo) will merge into Assumption (Buffalo)

• St. Edmund (Tonawanda) will merge with St. Christopher (Tonawanda)

Designated to close:

• St. Isidore Oratory (East Otto)

Pastors of parishes scheduled to merge said they have been through a difficult struggle over the past several years, dealing with declining membership and attendance at weekend Mass, building and maintenance costs, and a shortage of diocesan priests.

Sister Regina said the pastors have been provided with written implementation guidelines to assist them and their parishioners in completing the mergers and oratory closing, including establishing a timeframe and coordinating other transition-related details. "Entitled, ‘The Rites of Transition,’ these guidelines will help parishes effect change in a prayerful and peaceful way," said Sister Regina.

Each new parish faith community will decide on the future use of all church buildings, properties and artifacts, she added.

Both Bishop Kmiec and Sister Regina said the process was moving forward according to plan, with other restructuring recommendations now being reviewed at the diocesan level.

"We are responding to proposals from the regional clusters and vicariates to hopefully right-size for 2015 and beyond when we project there will be 150 active diocesan priests available for parish service," said Sister Regina. The number of active priests in the diocese has declined from 478 in 1984 to 202 today, she said.

According to Sister Regina, there are currently 273 parishes, missions and oratories in Western New York.

Bishop Kmiec said the previously announced timetable for communicating future restructuring decisions – tentatively June and October of 2007 – has been scrapped in favor of a series of ongoing announcements. "We will no longer be bound by self-mandated timeframes and self-imposed deadlines. When work is done and decisions are ready to be made, we will announce them in due time to avoid unnecessary angst or further delays in the process," Bishop Kmiec said.

The Journey in Faith and Grace strategic planning process was designed to identify the religious, spiritual, and education needs of the Catholic faithful throughout the diocese, and determine how those needs can best be met. The goal is to ensure that parishes will have the membership, leadership, and resources to be vibrant centers of parish life.

Quotes from Pastors, Pastoral Administrators at Affected Parishes, Oratory

"The parishioners, trustees, parish council, and I realized that the severe decline in the church’s membership posed a serious problem for the congregation and for the Church at large. We became proactive and began working toward having the parish closed. The members of St. John the Evangelist are a talented, resourceful, and faith-filled group of God’s family. They have assimilated well into neighboring parishes. Their talents are most welcomed and appreciated at Immaculate Conception in Cassadaga."

-- Father Pat Elis, pastor of both St. John the Evangelist in Sinclairville and Immaculate Conception in Cassadaga

"The two parishes of St. Patrick’s and St. Francis have been in theory merged for many years.  The two have shared our joint educational, spiritual, liturgical and financial resources and have been in close partnership providing for the well being of our faith communities.  While this official merger may be difficult, the result will be a stronger presence in the Diocese and community we serve."

-- Father Robert Orlowski, pastor of both St. Francis of Assisi parish in Corfu and the Mission of St. Patrick in Crittenden

"The process surfaced great people willing to give and receive from other communities. All of us hope that what is good in each community will unite to create something better. What’s good will last, because good minus one ‘o’ equals God."

-- Father Czeslaw M. Krysa, pastor of SS. Peter & Paul and St. Mary parishes in East Arcade and Blessed Sacrament Parish in Delevan

"St. Elizabeth Parish was recommended for closing because our congregation has dwindled to about 100 registered persons and most are elderly and unable to raise the funds necessary for regular operation. The English Mass is attended by about 20 people and the Hungarian Mass by about 40 depending on the time of year. Only four households are within walking distance of the church. Operating costs exceed the weekly collection and we have had to rely on savings to cover minimal operating costs. For many years, we relied on income from the rental of the now vacant school building and two weekly bingo games, which over the past six years were discontinued because of poor revenues and a dwindling work force."

"The merging of Saint Edmund and Saint Christopher parishes is very much a homecoming. Some 42 years ago, St. Edmund was established from a large segment of St. Christopher parishioners and some from St. Francis. Good liturgy and a strong commitment to Catholic education are hallmarks of both communities. With more people working together, having the advantage of increased space and more facilities, I see only the potential for spiritual growth for the people of the merged parish and greater service to the wider community. May God, who has begun the good work in us, bring it to perfection in the day of Christ Jesus."

-- Father Charles Slisz, pastor of St. Christopher parish in Tonawanda

"As pastor of St. Edmund’s, I am excited for our faith community for the new opportunities of ministries and life that await us as we join together with the faith community of St. Christopher’s Parish. I strongly feel this merger is much like a marriage, where two people bring their unique giftedness and join together to become one... thus creating something new that would not have been possible alone. This merger will benefit both communities by offering new life in the form of ministry and strengthen both existing congregations to expand beyond their present realities. This result of the merger was a collaborative effort of many through the guidance and inspiration of the Holy Spirit."

-- Father Robert Wozniak, pastor of St. Edmund Parish in Tonawanda

"Over the years, the people from St. Isidore have become an integral part of St. Mary Parish in Cattaraugus.   They have shown us that the building is not the church but we are.   The melting together of these two communities has brought together our leadership and talents, to focus on doing God’s will.   I pray that we all might hear the same call that St. Francis did when God called him to ‘Build my church.’   Buildings are made of wood and stone but we, as a community, are the body of Christ, the Church."

-- Deacon Fred Johnson, pastoral administrator, St. Isidore Oratory in East Otto

Quotes from Laity

"It is with some sadness that St. Patrick’s will merge with St. Francis Parish; however I see the move as a step in the right direction.  With fewer priests to go around and financial questions increasing, it will be a better use of our resources for the diocese and our parish."

-- John Farley is a parish trustee at the Mission of St. Patrick in Crittenden

"When the church doors close for the final time at St. Elizabeth parish, when the 100-year old bells ring for the final farewell, a tradition will come to an end. St. Elizabeth’s Parish was known for its hard work ethic and the tireless effort of a dedicated group of Catholics. The parishioners, mostly senior citizens, have accepted the fact that the bells will no longer toll at their beloved St. Elizabeth’s. They know that they may not see the same smiling faces that greeted them for generations, but they look forward to being a parishioner of their priest, Father Richard, who has guided them for the past seven years."

-- Donald J. Puchalski is a parishioner at St. Elizabeth in Buffalo

"From the very beginning of Cluster meetings there was really good conversation among the lay people and the clergy about vibrancy and the needs of our St. Christopher and St. Edmund’s communities. Outreach, education, serving the frail elderly and single parents are all issues of being good neighbors, according to the Pope Benedict’s first encyclical and therefore very high on our list. All of us took the bishop’s challenge and opportunity very seriously, taking a lot of time to develop the merger plan on our own. Enhancing services to the families in our neighborhoods through the merger will, we believe, create a stronger and more connected parish community for our families."

-- Robert Bennett is a parishioner at St. Christopher in Tonawanda and a member of The Diocesan Strategic Planning Commission

"As a longtime (charter) parishioner of St. Edmund's Parish, a former teacher and parent of four graduates of St. Edmund’s School, I look to this merger of St. Edmund’s and St. Christopher’s schools and parishes as a new beginning. Change may be difficult, but it brings with it an excitement of more abundant energy into services that our parishes provide. Spiritual growth and further development of programs in reaching out to the needs and desires of all parishioners and the community will enhance the identity of our Catholic faith and beliefs. The sadness that I feel in my heart is overcome in the belief that the Diocese of Buffalo and the Strategic Planning Commission have found a way to lead its people, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to strengthen and expand our Catholic ministry in Tonawanda and Western New York."

-- Louise Lopardi is a member of the Liturgy Committee and a Eucharist Minister at St. Edmund in Tonawanda