Catholic parishes to consolidate: Six churches here to become two

After two years of study and planning, the Archdiocese of Hartford has announced consolidation of numerous parishes, including some in the state’s Northwest Corner.  The changes are to become effective June 29.

The Archdiocese of Hartford is the administrative governing body for all Catholic churches in Connecticut.  When the changes go into effect, there will be 127 parishes in the state, down from the current 212. This is being presented as a move toward reinvigoration, rather than reduction.

Local parish mergers will see St. Bernard (Sharon), St. Bridget (Cornwall Bridge) and Sacred Heart (Kent) consolidating to form a new parish to be named St. Kateri Tekakwitha.  

According to information at www.catholic.org, “St. Kateri Tekakwitha is the first Native American to be recognized as a saint by the Catholic Church.” There is already a church in her name in LaGrange, N.Y.

Another merger will see St. Joseph (North Canaan), St. Mary (Lakeville) and Immaculate Conception (Norfolk) consolidating to form a new parish to be named St. Martin of Tours. 

Although some of the more vibrant parishes in the state will remain untouched, 144 current parishes are slated for mergers, to create 59 new parishes.

“There is great potential for collaboration,” said the Rev. James Shanley, Vicar of Pastoral Planning for the Archdiocese, who led the work to develop the plan in light of pressures and the realities of the modern church. Where churches in past generations were filled on Sundays, modern-day churches often are not. Dwindling attendance, a shortage of priests, shifting demographics and financial sustainability are critical factors which led necessarily to the decision to restructure, he said.

Saying that he knows the Northwest Corner and its beauty well, Shanley said his parents were married in Lakeville at St. Mary’s.  Explaining how the consolidation will work, he said that because of diminished attendance, each one of the three merged churches may only need to offer one service each week-end, led by the same priest who will travel to all three.

The three churches in a given merger will be operated as a single parish, Shanley said, but the single parish will have three worship locations — the present churches.  Those church names will remain the same as always, but there will be a single combined administrative structure.  There will be one parish council, one board of trustees, one ladies’ group and one food pantry, for example, allowing the priest to work with single entities, rather than three separate and distinct sets of committees.

Within the new parish of St. Martin of Tours, Father Iain Highet of St. Joseph’s in North Canaan will travel among the three churches.

Within the new parish of St. Kateri Tekakwitha, Father Joseph G.M. Kurnath, presently of St. Mary’s, will be assuming pastoral duties in Waterbury on June 29, and Father Francis Fador of Sharon and Cornwall will be retiring on that date. The new priest for the new combined parish is Monsignor Vittorio Guerrera, coming from St. Luke’s in Hartford, which is closing. 

The Archdiocese explained that the “parishes” are the people and the “churches” are the buildings.  The churches are remaining the same, but it is the parishes which are being merged to form new parishes.  The parishioners will still be able to attend services in their usual churches.

This has been small comfort to parishioners at the area churches, especially at St. Mary’s, where a campaign has begun to keep Father Joe in Salisbury.

St. Martin of Tours, a 4th-century bishop, is best known for using his sword to divide his cloak in two, and giving half to a street beggar in winter.

St. Kateri Tekakwitha, an Algonquin-Mohawk layperson, lived in 17th-century Canada, resided at a Jesuit mission from the age of 19 until her death at 24.  She suffered heavy scarring from smallpox, appearing to clear up upon her death.  In the Mohawk tongue, her name translates to “She who bumps into things.”