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CV NEWS FEED // Parishes in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, Maryland, are beginning to merge as the Archdiocese moves forward with its reconstruction plan to “focus on mission and ministry” amid a declining church attendance rate.
11 News, an NBC affiliate, reported that Nov. 24, marked what was likely the last-ever Sunday Mass for several Baltimore parishes. The beginning of the parish merger is set for December 1.
CatholicVote previously reported that the Archdiocese announced in May the closures of nearly 40 parishes, dropping the total number of parishes from 61 to 23, and decreasing the number of worship sites from 59 to 30.
At the time of the announcement, Archbishop William Lori stated that the closure was not related to the Archdiocese’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. He cited lower rates of Mass attendance, deteriorating property conditions, and limited resources, CatholicVote reported.
Some Baltimore archdiocese parishioners told 11 News they were excited about the new chapter of faith the merger hopes to bring about, but others said they were “angry with the archdiocese.”
“I think they had no good reason to shut us down,” a long-time parishioner at a closing church, told 11 News. “We are financially stable, we’ve got something like $900,000 in the bank.”
However, another parishioner at a different parish told 11 News she was “happy that we’re going to move on to a new church as a family.”
As CatholicVote previously reported, parishioners had until Oct. 11 to file appeals regarding the closure or merger of their home church.
