Three Ashtabula parishes may turn into one

Diocese of Youngstown has drafted a plan to consolidate

By CARL E. FEATHER - Staff Writer - cfeather@starbeacon.com

ASHTABULA — No timeline has been set and the final plan is not due until May, but a draft of a parish consolidation plan unveiled Wednesday night by the Diocese of Youngstown would merge the city’s three Roman Catholic parishes and one mission into one.

The merged unit would blend St. Joseph, Mother of Sorrows and Our Lady of Mount Carmel churches, and the Our Lady of Miracles mission of St. Joseph’s Parish, into what would be the second-largest parish in the diocese, covering 2,797 households and served by one pastor, a parochial vicar and a ministerial team. The parish would have two worship sites, suggesting the diocese would close two church buildings. The plan does not specify which buildings would be shuttered, however.

The Rev. Joseph Ruggieri, who serves the Mount Carmel and Mother of Sorrows parishes, said three-person teams from all three parishes and the mission attended the diocese’s “deanery” meeting Wednesday evening, when the plan was announced.

The teams were formed to give each parish “ownership” in the restructuring process, which began with parish statistical audits in the fall of 2008. Self-evaluation forms on parish life and ministry were completed in May 2009. The aim of the tools was to lead the parishes to see realistically where they are now and how they need to move into the future. The next step is to get the draft plan into parishioners’ hands.

The Rev. Philip Miller, priest at St. Joseph and the mission, worked on that task Friday afternoon as parishioners fried fish and potatoes for the Lenten Friday dinners. Miller talked about the plan even as he stuffed summaries into church bulletins, which will be distributed at Masses this weekend.

“I wouldn’t say anything at this point is for sure,” Miller said regarding which buildings will close. “This is just a draft of the proposal, to which we can give feedback.”

Miller said the parishes have until March 15 to send their comments back to the diocese.

“The people now have a chance to look at it and see if there is anything that’s not workable,” he said. “They’ll have the opportunity to give their insights before a decision is made.”The final decision will rest with Bishop George V. Murry, who is expected to make the announcement on Pentecost Sunday in May.

Elaine Engelmann, one of the St. Joseph members who served on the parish team, said members have a lot of questions about the plan, but the one she hears most frequently is “Which one (or two) of the churches will be closing?”

She said that’s a question only the diocese can answer.

Ruggieri said the diocese seemed to put that ball in the parish teams’ court when the subject came up at the meeting, and that generated some anger.

“The anger comes from the idea that we were supposed to help make the decision of what (parish) remains open,” Ruggieri said. “There is no way that decision can be made by the people of Ashtabula.”

Demographic shifts, fewer priests and changing attitudes of Catholic people drove the need for a restructuring study. Nine years ago, the Youngstown Diocese, which encompasses six counties, had 256,071 registered Catholics; in 2009, the number was 201,587. Ninety-seven active diocesan priests serve 112 parishes and two missions. According to the diocese, 36 priests possibly could retire in the next five years. Only 14 seminarians presently are studying for the priesthood in the diocese.

Conneaut’s St. Mary and St. Francis Cabrini parishes already have merged. Two years ago, Ashtabula’s Mother of Sorrows and Our Lady of Mount Carmel began sharing a priest and rotating worship services between the churches.

Five of the county’s more rural congregations are organized into collaborative units of two each with one pastor. They would remain as distinct parishes under the plan. Assumption in Geneva remains as a single parish in the draft plan. No mention is made of the city’s Byzantine Rite congregation, St. Nicholas. Our Lady of Victory in Andover is paired with St. Patrick’s in Kinsman.

Ruggieri said the plan does not address the issue of Catholic schools. That planning process is continuing. Enrollment in local Catholic education is tracking the public school trend — fewer students are enrolled — although the percentage of students in Catholic education is holding steady.

He said he hopes the community’s Catholics remember that the Catholic Church is the same, regardless of which building parishioners worship in. That said, he acknowledges there are generations of tradition housed in the walls of Ashtabula’s houses of worship, two of which are more than a century old.

“It’s like the family home: You never want to see the family home torn down,” he said.

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