St. Elizabeth Roman Catholic Church in Baltimore, Maryland / Adobe Stock
CV NEWS FEED // The Archdiocese of Baltimore has begun a process of closing and merging almost 40 parishes before December 1.
The Baltimore Banner reports that the number of parishes will decrease from 61 to 23, and the number of worship sites will drop from 59 to 30.
Parishioners have until October 11 to file appeals.
The Diocese announced the closures in May, as CatholicVote previously reported. Archbishop William Lori’s letter announcing the mergers assured the faithful that they are unrelated to the Diocese’s 2023 bankruptcy filing.
“I have heard speculation, connecting future sales of properties to supporting the bankruptcy settlement. This is not true,” he wrote.
“During implementation some properties will be repurposed while some will be sold. Proceeds from any building sale will remain in the parish and follow the people to the newly formed parish. This is Church law, and it is supported by civil law,” he clarified.
His letter stated that instead, the process of reorganization “was aimed at allowing our parishes to focus on mission and ministry, as opposed to leaking roofs, crumbling walls and failing electric and plumbing systems.”
Archbishop Lori added that the decision will form new communities and concentrate the Church’s gifts and resources, which are often spread too thin, enabling these new communities to fulfill the urgent task of “announcing the Gospel and helping our neighbors here in the City to encounter the saving love of the Father revealed in Jesus Christ.”
