Local News Reports on Possible Church Closings in Phoenixville
Sacred Heart and Holy Trinity have received notice that the churches will close, but the Archdiocese is denying that any decisions have been made, according to FOX29.
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Local news station FOX29 reported Monday that two churches in Phoenixville, Sacred Heart on Church Street and Holy Trinity on Dayton Street, may close.
A reporter interviewed two parishioners from Sacred Heart and noted that a letter (attached above) from the Rev. Michael W. Rzonca appeared in a Nov. 13 bulletin. In the letter, Rzonca said he received notice on Oct. 18 that the parishes will close. He cited priest shortages and changing demographics as the reasons for the closures. The letter goes on to say:
When the parishes will close is still unknown, so until then we expect to continue having Masses, baptisms, weddings, funerals and fundraisers as usual. Once the closing date arrives, no church services would be permitted, except for funerals, weddings already scheduled, and possibly for a Patronal Feast of the Church. However, once closed there will be no Masses, baptisms, First Communions or confirmation.
In the FOX29 report, parishioners complained that they can’t get a straight answer from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia concerning the possible closures. The reporter stated that the news station contacted a representative from the Archdiocese who said, “There are no concrete plans to close either church,” and said a study is underway to look at the effects of priest shortages and demographic changes.
All area churches are part of the Archdiocese’s Parish Pastoral Planning. To view 2010 reports for both Sacred Heart and Holy Trinity, visit the Pastoral Planning website. For both churches, the reports from 2010 show that while overall registered population increased in the parishes, weekend attendance in particular dropped at both churches by 16 percent from 2006 to 2010. Other measured areas, like infant baptism and funerals, were also down during the four-year period.
To view the full video and story from FOX29, visit the station’s website.
Jose Parra
8:19 am on Wednesday, January 11, 2012
For now that is not true at all because there has only been one meeting of the council of priest and the dean for our area confirmed that this is not something he has been made aware of yet and he will be informed by the Archdiocese if that is true. Those rumors came out of St. Mary's church who obviously wants to see this happen in order to have more parishoners come to the church. All the churches were given a letter by Monsignor Arthur Rogers on ideas to present to him on changes that will save money in the long run for the Archdiocese. Second I will be meeting with the coordinator of strategic planning Monsignor Arthur Rogers on this and other matters soon at the request of the Archbishop who I have given advice to on this matter also. Those parishoners and others have been misled because that has not been in discussion at all at the Archdiocese level yet.
Bob
5:46 pm on Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Jose what parish do you belong to Sacred Heart or Holy Trinity or none of the above? What would this letter show up in our church bulletin signed by Father Mike for stating they he met with the Archdiocese and they made a decision to close both churches? He had to be told something from the Archdiocese in order to print this letter on the churches closing. St Mary's has nothing to do with this and for you to state this is misleading. I have been a parishoner for over 38 years and will be very sorry to see these churches close.
Jim
9:42 am on Wednesday, January 11, 2012
This is exactly what needs to be done. The Catholic church needs to follow what the rest of organizations, businesses and the like around the country have been doing, and consolidate its resources for better efficiency for those they are serving. They started with the schools, and by the looks of the Pastoral Planning study, churches are next.
richard
7:25 pm on Wednesday, January 11, 2012
take some of those priest in rome send them over to usa to run the parish churches
Ike
11:07 pm on Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Well,,Jose ,sometimes acts like he knows all. No,, most of the time.So dont forget to go to the meetings,iam sure they want your input.,,yea,ok
These churches are part of our own.They have been here since i can remember .I do not belong to any of these , but it would seem strange not to have them here.I can remember when they all had schools at them . There was enough of them that they even had a Catholic school basketball leauge at the Civic Center.
So maybe Jose you can tell them that,, act like you know.
Lynn Jusinski
7:50 am on Thursday, January 12, 2012
I deleted a comment that had nothing to do with the story. Please stick to the topic at hand.