As part of the ongoing reorganization of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Archbishop Charles Chaput has announced the appointment of 12 deans throughout the Archdiocese.
“The role of the deans offers a better means of communication between the Archbishop, the priests and the people,” said Msgr. Arthur E. Rodgers, coordinator for Archdiocesan Planning Initiatives in the Archdiocese.
The Deans will also aid in the pastoral planning process in their particular area. Also, as part of the process, the six vicariates have been abolished, as well as the 39 former clusters. In their place there are four regions, each overseen by an auxiliary bishop, and divided into the 12 deaneries. Unlike the previous vicariates, the regions do not follow county lines.
Although the process has been in the planning stages for about a year, according to Msgr. Rodgers, Archbishop Chaput has made some important changes. All the priests of the new deaneries were asked to nominate candidates for dean from among the pastors. They voted for a dean from among the three highest nominees from among those who accepted the nomination, and the Archbishop appointed their selection. Also, all the deans will be among the members of the Council of Priests as reconstituted by Archbishop Chaput.
Region I, overseen by Auxiliary Bishop John J. McIntyre, includes four deaneries.
Father Roland D. Slobogin, pastor of St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Drexel Hill, has been appointed Dean of Deanery 1 in Eastern Delaware County.
Father Robert V. Vogan, pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Aston, has been appointed Dean of Deanery 2 in Western Delaware County.
Msgr. Daniel J. Kutys, pastor of SS. Peter and Paul Parish in West Chester, has been appointed Dean of Deanery 3 in Western Chester County and the Oxford region.
Father Joseph C. Dieckhaus, pastor of SS. Philip and James Parish in Exton, has been appointed Dean of Deanery 4, Northern Chester County.
Region II, overseen by Auxiliary Bishop Daniel E. Thomas, includes three deaneries.
Msgr. Joseph J. Nicolo, pastor of St. Helena Parish in Blue Bell, has been appointed Dean of Deanery 5, Western Montgomery County.
Msgr. Michael T. McCulken, pastor of St. Matthias Parish in Bala Cynwyd, has been appointed Dean of Deanery 6, Main Line, Bridgeport and Roxborough.
Msgr. Stephen P. McHenry, pastor of St. Anthony Parish in Ambler, has been appointed Dean of Deanery 7, Eastern Montgomery County and Northwest Philadelphia.
Region III, overseen by Auxiliary Bishop Timothy C. Senior, includes two deaneries.
Father William C. Kaufman, pastor of St. Richard Parish in Philadelphia, has been appointed Dean of Deanery 8, South Philadelphia and Northern Liberties.
Father John F. Babowitch, pastor of St. Barnabas Parish in Philadelphia, has been appointed Dean of Deanery 9, West Philadelphia and Center City.
Region IV, overseen by Auxiliary Bishop Michael J. Fitzgerald, includes three deaneries.
Msgr. James D. Beisel, pastor of St. Robert Parish in Warrington, has been appointed Dean of Deanery 10, Central and Upper Bucks County.
Father Thomas J. Dunleavy, pastor of St. Anselm Parish in Philadelphia, has been appointed Dean of Deanery 11, Upper Northeast Philadelphia and Lower Bucks County.
Father Thomas M. Higgins, pastor of Holy Innocents Parish in Philadelphia, has been appointed Dean of Deanery 12, Lower Northeast Philadelphia.
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Lou Baldwin is a freelance writer and a member of St. Leo Parish, Philadelphia.
December 14, 2011
Today the Archdiocese of Philadelphia announces the beginning of the implementation of Parish Pastoral Planning Initiative. The first 22 of 44 Pastoral Planning Areas (PPAs), each made up of several parishes in the same geographic vicinity, will begin their work of developing and implementing their Parish Pastoral Plans.
Under the leadership of Reverend Monsignor Arthur E. Rodgers, Coordinator of Archdiocesan Planning Initiatives and the Archdiocesan Strategic Planning Committee, these PPAs will take part in a prayerful and participative process by which each parish clearly defines its identity, mission, and goals while working to determine if it has the resources required for sustained operation.
It is expected that the first 22 PPAs will complete the work of planning and implementation over the next three years. The remainder of the PPAs will likely require an additional three years to complete their work. At this time, no decisions have been made regarding any of the PPAs.
Statistics from the past two decades show that numerous factors including demographic shifts, a decline in weekly Mass attendance, a high density of parishes in a relatively small geographic area, the availability of clergy, serious financial challenges and underutilized parish facilities have seriously impacted the quality of parish life. To address these challenges, a pastoral letter, "Called to Conversion and Holiness," was distributed to all the faithful of the Archdiocese in the fall of 2010. It outlined the need to examine all 266 parishes in order to determine if they possess the resources to accomplish their role in the mission of Christ and remain sustainable and vibrant faith communities.
The work of Parish Area Pastoral Planning is conducted in three stages involving review of information, consultation and recommendations. There are two possible outcomes of the work: parish mergers or no change in structure but a plan for future sustainability. For a detailed overview of the stages, criteria for parish mergers and possible outcomes visit http://archphila.org/conversion/conversion_index.htm
June 3, 2012
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced today that Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. has approved the recommendations of the Archdiocesan Strategic Planning Committee to merge parishes in Phoenixville. These mergers are the result of ongoing restructuring that will ultimately strengthen parish communities throughout the Archdiocese positioning them for future growth and sustainability. It is hoped that the result will be revitalized parishes throughout the Archdiocese that are better equipped to meet the spiritual and pastoral needs of future generations.
The recommendations and resulting mergers are an outcome of the Archdiocesan-wide Parish Pastoral Planning Area initiative, which began in 2011. Parishioners at all affected parishes learned of the final decisions through letters mailed to all registered parishioners as well as announcements made at all Masses this weekend.
The mergers announced today were based on a combination of factors, including, but not limited to, demographic shifts in Catholic populations, concentrated density of parishes in a limited geographic area, history of declining Mass attendance and sacramental activity, increasing economic challenges that threaten sustainability, a decrease in the availability of clergy to staff parishes, and a review of facilities.
Parishioners will attend daily and Sunday Mass at the church of the newly formed parish. The churches of the former parishes will remain open and be maintained as worship sites. At the discretion of the pastor, these sites will be utilized for weddings, funerals and feast days, as well as traditional and ethnic devotions for the duration of at least one year during the transition. Sunday Mass may also be celebrated at a worship site at the discretion of the pastor and the newly formed pastoral council.
All parish property, assets and debts of the former parishes will be assumed by the newly created parishes, which will also be responsible for the care of all sacramental records. The pastors from the merging parishes will form a transitional team made up of lay leaders from each of the merging parishes to assist in moving forward with building the new parish community.
The Archdiocesan Strategic Planning Committee, made up of lay persons, priests and Archdiocesan personnel, is examining all 267 parishes within the Archdiocese to gauge their viability and assess whether they possess the resources to accomplish their role in the mission of the Church and remain sustainable and vibrant faith communities. Parishes within each pastoral planning area will continue to carefully and thoughtfully examine their viability in order to make future recommendations. Additional parish announcements are expected in the fall of 2012 and the spring of 2013 and 2014.
Parish Area Pastoral Planning is designed to be as collaborative and consultative as possible. Its goal is to provide pastors, after consulting their parish leadership, with the opportunity to dialogue with members of the Strategic Planning Committee in providing joint recommendations to the Archbishop for growth and sustainability within their respective geographic areas. Additionally, in the majority of cases, the regional bishop and the dean meet with the pastors as well as their pastoral and finance councils to hear their concerns and receive their recommendations.
The Archdiocesan Strategic Planning Committee shared all final proposals with the Council of Priests and the College of Consultors for the review before final approval by the Archbishop.
| Holy Trinity Parish: | 2006 | 2010 |
| Infant Baptisms | 6 | 5 |
| Marriages | 1 | 1 |
| Weekend Mass attendance | 446 | 373 |
| Saint Mary of the Assumption Parish: | 2006 | 2010 |
| Infant Baptisms | 26 | 18 |
| Marriages | 3 | 1 |
| Weekend Mass attendance | 513 | 511 |
Sacred Heart and Saint Ann Parishes (Phoenixville, Chester County)
Sacred Heart Parish and Saint Ann Parish will merge at the location of and keep the name of Saint Ann Parish. The two parishes are less than 0.75 miles away from each other. Sacred Heart Church will remain as a worship site. The pastor of the newly formed parish will be appointed with the regular priest personnel announcements in the coming weeks.
| Sacred Heart Parish: | 2006 | 2010 |
| Infant Baptisms | 19 | 14 |
| Marriages | 10 | 12 |
| Weekend Mass attendance | 565 | 477 |
| Saint Ann Parish: | 2006 | 2010 |
| Infant Baptisms | 96 | 79 |
| Marriages | 15 | 19 |
| Weekend Mass attendance | 1,359 | 1,334 |
Contact
Kenneth A. Gavin
Associate Director of Communications
215-587-3747
September 25, 2012
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced today that Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. has approved the recommendation of the Archdiocesan Strategic Planning Committee to close Ascension of Our Lord Parish in the Harrowgate section of Philadelphia after a study lasting several months.
Parishioners of the former Ascension of Our Lord Parish will be welcomed at either Holy Innocents Parish (approximately 1.7 miles away) or Visitation, B.V.M. Parish (approximately 0.9 miles away). These parishes will divide responsibility for all of the assets, debts, buildings and sacramental records of the former-Ascension of Our Lord Parish. Due to serious issues with the physical condition of the Ascension of Our Lord church building, it had not been utilized for quite some time. Masses were being celebrated in the parish rectory and the former school building due to safety issues with the church building and low Mass attendance. The church will not be maintained as a worship site due to lack of funds for needed physical improvements, which are estimated to cost at least $3 million.
This closure is part of the ongoing restructuring efforts, which began in 2011, that will ultimately strengthen parish communities positioning them for future growth and sustainability across the five-county Archdiocese. It is hoped that the end result will be revitalized parishes throughout the Archdiocese that are better equipped to meet the spiritual and pastoral needs of future generations.
Parishioners previously learned of this final decision through recent announcements at weekend Masses. This closure, which is effective October 1st, was based on a combination of factors, including, but not limited to history of declining Mass attendance and sacramental activity, increasing economic challenges that threaten sustainability, a decrease in the availability of clergy to staff parishes, and the deteriorated condition of facilities.
The Archdiocesan Strategic Planning Committee, made up of lay persons, priests and Archdiocesan personnel, is examining all 257 parishes within the Archdiocese to gauge their viability and assess whether they possess the resources to accomplish their role in the mission of the Church and remain sustainable and vibrant faith communities. Parishes within each pastoral planning area will continue to carefully and thoughtfully examine their viability in order to make future recommendations. Additional parish announcements are expected in the spring of 2013 and 2014.
Parish Area Pastoral Planning is designed to be as collaborative and consultative as possible. Its goal is to provide pastors, after consulting their parish leadership, with the opportunity to dialogue with members of the Strategic Planning Committee in providing joint recommendations to the Archbishop for growth and sustainability within their respective geographic areas.
The recommendations of the Archdiocesan Strategic Planning Committee are shared with the Council of Priests and the College of Consultors for their review before a final decision is made by the Archbishop.
| Year | 2007 | 2011 |
| Infant Baptisms | 17 | 7 |
| Marriages | 4 | 2 |
| Weekend Mass attendance | 391 | 188 |
Contact
Kenneth A. Gavin
Associate Director of Communications
215-587-3747