Update Parishes Recommended for Closure in the Together In Faith Planning Process

These documents presented to Archbishop Vigneron from his 1,500 lay volunteers and the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council reflect the inner workings of the Together in Faith planning process for our local 270 Catholic parishes. Our goal in our disclosures is to invite the Catholic public to see all that has been happening within our planning process – it is a look behind the scenes, so to speak, and not a finished plan. When Archbishop Vigneron acts on these recommendations, we will be able to present a more thorough summary of the final plan.

To expand upon one of the many points that we have highlighted from these 40 planning documents, below are the parishes that we have counted as those which have been recommended for closure over the next five years. Our count is based on specific language denoting recommended closures within the planning documents:

St. Donald Parish, Roseville – The parish planning group proposed, and the APC concurred, that St. Donald Parish would close upon the retirement of its pastor in 2012.

St. Maurice Parish, Livonia – Already clustered with St. Genevieve (the two parishes share a pastor), the parish planning group has proposed, and the APC has concurred, that St. Maurice should merge with St. Genevieve by June, 2012, and the St. Maurice site would close.

St. Elizabeth Parish, Wyandotte – The parish planning group has proposed that St. Elizabeth should merge with St. Joseph Parish in Wyandotte in 2012 and close the St. Elizabeth worship site. The newly merged parish would further consider merging with St. Patrick to create a new parish. This two-step process has been accepted by the APC, pending some further considerations.

St. Anthony (Lithuanian) Parish, Detroit – The parish planning group has proposed that St. Anthony Lithuanian Parish merge with Divine Providence (Lithuanian) Parish in Southfield in 2013. The APC has asked for further analysis on the possibility of the St. Anthony church building being used by Holy Redeemer Parish.

Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish, Harper Woods – The parish planning group proposed, and the APC concurred, that the church property should be placed on sale in 2012 and the parish would close upon the sale of the property.

Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in River Rouge or St. Francis Xavier Parish in Ecorse – The parish planning group has proposed, and the APC has concurred, that the two parishes should merge and close one of the worship sites by June 2012.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish or St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish in Wyandotte – The parish planning group has proposed, and the APC has concurred, that the two parishes should merge and close one of the worship sites within three to five years.

St. Luke Parish in Detroit – The APC has recommended that St. Luke Parish should plan to close and the community would merge with St. Mary of Redford Parish in Detroit.