The Second Draft Models reflect the input received across the Archdiocese from the priests, deacons, religious, key parish leaders, and the lay faithful regarding the first draft models which were presented during Parish Listening Sessions in October. The models show the Archdiocese being reshaped from 178 individual parish parishes into 88 “pastorates” in order to best serve the lay faithful. Not all of these 88 “pastorates” will have the same structure due to the stipulations and requirements of the Church’s law. Where the circumstances of particular parishes present just cause, there may be a merger of parishes. In situations where just cause (see definition at the end of the FAQ) does not arise, there may remain a grouping of individual parishes which will share the same pastor, associate pastor(s), and staff who will provide pastoral care to those parishes as a group.

We gathered feedback about which communities it made sense to bring together under the care of one pastor. In addition to the feedback we received from 70,000 parishioners across the Archdiocese from the Disciple Maker Index (DMI) Survey, this fall we hosted nearly 350 Listening Sessions at 178 parishes, surveyed 18,000 parish school parents, administrators, teachers, staff, donors, community partners, and volunteers, compiled sacramental, financial and demographic statistics for every parish and school, met with community, civic and business organizations, held focus groups, and had conversations at the deanery and parish levels, both in groups and one on one. The All Things New planning committee, which includes priests, deacons, parish life coordinators, lay leaders and religious from across the Archdiocese, has now reviewed the parish feedback summaries, parish workbooks and financial data of every parish in the Archdiocese of St. Louis. All are currently posted at allthingsnew.archstl.org. Using that information, the planning committee has refined the first Draft Models to a second set of Draft Models, which propose one Draft Model per planning area. It is important to note that due to the feedback received, none of the first Draft Models were adopted into the second Draft Models.

A parish is a certain community of Christ’s faithful stably established within a diocese whose pastoral care is entrusted by the diocesan bishop to a parish priest as its pastor.

As a general rule, a parish is to be territorial; that is, it is to embrace all of Christ’s faithful of a given territory. Parish boundaries are understood to determine the pastor’s responsibility for providing pastoral care. Personal parishes may be established by reason of the rite, language, or nationality of Christ’s faithful or on some other basis. The intention is to assure the best possible provision of pastoral care relative to the unique needs of the particular group of Christ’s faithful. St. Cecilia Parish in South St. Louis, for example, is a personal parish established for the unique purpose of providing pastoral care for the Hispanic Catholics in Spanish.

The term “church” in this context means a sacred building dedicated to public worship, to which the faithful have a right of access. An oratory means a place which is set aside for divine worship, for the convenience of some community or group of the faithful who assemble there, to which however other members of the faithful may have access. An example would be St. Francis de Sales Oratory in South St. Louis, a place of worship at which the Extraordinary Form of the Mass is celebrated according to the Missal that existed prior to Vatican II. The term private chapel means a place which is set aside for divine worship for the convenience of one or more individuals.

In the context of this planning process, the term “pastorate” is being used colloquially to refer to a community of Christ’s faithful, whether constituted as one single parish or as several parishes, which is provided pastoral care by one pastor and pastoral team/staff. In some cases, an individual parish may remain freestanding with its own resident pastor, who discerns and determines the scope of pastoral care based on the real pastoral need and on his capacity to provide with the help of any associate pastors and staff he may have. In other cases, it may be that two or more parishes remain independently structured, but will share one pastor and pastoral team/staff. Finally, where there is just cause, it may be that some parishes will be merged and become a new parish under one pastor and pastoral team/staff. The second set of Draft Models reflects our collective discernment about which communities might best come together under the leadership of a single pastor and staff. We will proceed this spring with a case-by-case examination of each parish so as to provide the Archbishop with good counsel for his discernment about which juridic structure is justified and most pastorally prudent for each group of parishes. In any circumstance, while churches must remain accessible to the faithful for prayer unless there exists grave cause to close them, some churches may not be regularly used for the celebration of Sacraments.

Canon law stipulates that when a parish is merged with another all of the liquid assets of that parish must follow the people into whatever new parish circumstance they become a part of. Likewise, if parish property is ever sold, the proceeds from the sale follow the people into their new parish circumstance minus any outstanding debts which the merged parish owed. The Archdiocese does not and cannot acquire any of these funds. In some cases, an individual parish may remain freestanding with its own resident pastor, who discerns and determines the scope of pastoral care based on the real pastoral need and on his capacity to provide with the help of any associate pastors and staff he may have. In other cases, it may be that two or more parishes remain independently structured, but will share one pastor and pastoral team/staff. Finally, where there is just cause, it may be that some parishes will be merged and become a new parish under one pastor and pastoral team/staff. The second set of Draft Models reflects our collective discernment about which communities might best come together under the leadership of a single pastor and staff. We will proceed this spring with a case-by-case examination of each parish so as to provide the Archbishop with good counsel for his discernment about which juridic structure is justified and most pastorally prudent for each group of parishes. In any circumstance, while churches must remain accessible to the faithful for prayer unless there exists grave cause to close them, some churches may not be regularly used for the celebration of Sacraments.

This determination will result from consultation with the pastor and his parish leadership about any pastoral need the newly merged parish may have to retain multiple campuses as well as the capacity of the merged parish to materially support the combined upkeep of multiple campuses. The Archdiocese will provide assistance in objectively evaluating the physical condition of the buildings on all parish campuses so that eventual decisions about facilities will support the ministry of the parish and will constitute good stewardship.

Once a parish is lawfully established, the church’s law affords it perpetual status. This is for the sake of preserving the rights of the Faithful to access pastoral care in a stable manner. It is the competence of the diocesan bishop to alter parishes, but it is required that there be a just cause for doing so. The Holy See has stipulated as recently as July 2020 that purely diocesan initiatives or diocesan realties, including a diocesan shortage of clergy, do not in and of themselves constitute just cause for altering a parish. The just cause must arise from the circumstance of the parish itself. The Archbishop is dutybound to provide for the pastoral care of all of the people in the Archdiocese. He must do so using the priests he has. Fifteen years from now the Archdiocese will have 130 priests available for full-time parish ministry. In circumstances where there does not exist just cause for parishes to be merged, it may still be necessary for parishes to share the same pastor and pastoral staff. An adjustment of that sort results from pastoral necessity rather than just cause for a merger.