Archdiocesan committee releases
parish staffing recommendations

Proposals call for some parish churches to become chapels and for more parishes to share priests and resources

The second set of recommendation will be posted on Friday, June 24.

By Greg Otolski

Three parish churches in the Terre Haute Deanery may become chapels and several parishes in the archdiocese could see a reduction in the number of priests assigned to them over the next seven years.

An archdiocesan strategic planning committee discussed the recommendations on June 15-16 with priests, parish life coordinators and parish lay leaders in the Terre Haute, Indianapolis North, Indianapolis West, New Albany and Seymour deaneries who took part in a two-year study of future staffing of parishes.

The committee will discuss staffing recommendations next week with the study participants from the Bloomington, Indianapolis South, Tell City, Batesville and Connersville deaneries. Those recommendations will be reported in the June 24 issue of The Criterion.

The main challenge the archdiocese faces in the immediate future is determining how a declining number of priests in active ministry can best minister to a growing Catholic population in central and southern Indiana.

About 700 pastors, parish life coordinators and parish lay leaders took part in 33 meetings—three meetings in each of the 11 deaneries—from October 2002 to October 2004 to discuss the best way for the archdiocese’s 150 parishes to share a declining number of priests in the
immediate future.

There are currently 124 diocesan and religious order priests staffing parishes, but that number is projected to decline to 97 priests by 2012. During this same period, the number of Catholics in the archdiocese is projected to increase 16 percent to 267,000 people from 234,574.

With fewer priests in the future, several parishes likely will have to form clusters to share a pastor and other resources.

Changing the status of a parish church to a chapel means that no regular weekend or weekday Masses would be celebrated at the church. The church would still be maintained and used for special sacramental celebrations such as baptisms, weddings and funerals.

In determining how many priests would be needed to serve each deanery, the staffing committee looked at the projected number of Catholics per deanery and established what percentage they would be of the total archdiocesan population in 2012. Each deanery was then allotted an equivalent percentage of the projected number of priests available in 2012. The goal was to have 1 priest for every 1,000 households.

The future parish staffing committee’s report is regarded by the archdiocese as a resource guide for making staffing decisions in the future. It suggests what the Archdiocese of Indianapolis might do between now and 2012. In no way do the report and its recommendations constitute a “master plan” that can’t be changed.

Following are the parish staffing recommendations:

Terre Haute Deanery

Current (2004): 11 priests are serving the deanery

By 2012: five priests serving the deanery

• From four priests to two priests from the Conventual Franciscans serving St. Joseph, St. Benedict, Sacred Heart of Jesus and St. Ann parishes

• From two priests to one priest serving St. Patrick and St. Margaret Mary parishes (already being implemented)

• From two priests to one priest serving Annunciation Parish, Brazil, and St. Paul the Apostle Parish, Greencastle (already being implemented)

• Holy Rosary Parish, Seelyville, to become a chapel

• From two priests to one priest serving St. Joseph Parish, Rockville; Sacred Heart Parish, Clinton; and St. Mary-of-the-Woods Parish, St. Mary-of-the-Woods

• St. Joseph Parish, Universal and St. Leonard of Port Maurice, West Terre Haute, to become chapels.

Indianapolis West Deanery

Current (2004): 15 priests are serving the deanery

By 2012: 16 priests serving the deanery (recommendations could reduce number to 12 priests, if priests are needed elsewhere)

• From two priests to one priest serving Holy Trinity and St. Anthony parishes*

• From two priests to one priest serving St. Malachy Parish in Brownsburg, with a retired priest in residence

• From two priests to one priest serving Holy Angels and St. Michael the Archangel parishes

(* This recommendation already has been implemented, but instead of Holy Trinity and St. Anthony parishes sharing a priest, Holy Trinity and St. Christopher parishes now share a priest.)

Indianapolis North Deanery

Current (2004): 11 priests are serving the deanery

By 2012: 10 priests serving the deanery (with a further reduction to eight priests, if priests are needed elsewhere)

• From two priests to one priest shared by St. Joan of Arc and St. Thomas Aquinas parishes (already being implemented)

• From two priests to one priest at St. Lawrence Parish

• No weekend assistant priest serving Christ the King and St. Luke parishes

New Albany Deanery

Current (2004): 16 priests are serving the deanery

By 2012: 11 priests serving the deanery

• From two priests to one priest serving the Jeffersonville parishes of Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and St. Augustine

• From two priests to one priest serving St. Joseph Parish, St. Joseph Hill, and St. Paul Parish, Sellersburg

• From three priests to two priests—a pastor and an associate pastor—serving St. Mary-of-the-Knobs Parish, Floyds Knobs; St. John the Baptist Parish, Starlight; and St. Mary Parish, Navilleton

• From two priests to one priest serving St. Michael Parish, Bradford, and St. Mary Parish, Lanesville

• From two priests to one priest serving St. Mary-of-the-Knobs Parish, Floyds Knobs; St. John the Baptist Parish, Starlight; and St. Mary Parish, Navilleton

OR

• One priest serving St. Francis Xavier Parish, Henryville; St. Patrick Parish, Salem; Church of the American Martyrs, Scottsburg (both in the Seymour Deanery); St. Michael Parish, Charlestown; St. Joseph Parish, St. Joseph Hill; and St. Paul Parish, Sellersburg

Seymour Deanery

Current (2004): eight priests are serving the deanery

By 2012: seven priests serving the deanery

• From two priests to one priest serving St. Rose of Lima Parish, Franklin, and Holy Trinity Parish, Edinburgh, without weekend assistance

OR

• From two priests to one priest serving St. Anne Parish, Jennings County; St. Joseph Parish, Jennings County; and St. Mary Parish, North Vernon (Jennings County)

OR

• From two priests to one priest serving Church of the American Martyrs, Scottsburg; St. Patrick Parish, Salem; and St. Francis Xavier Parish, Henryville (New Albany Deanery)

The strategic planning committee report continues the work begun in 1989 when a Future Parish Staffing Committee of the Priests’ Personnel Board was appointed by the late Indianapolis Archbishop Edward T. O’Meara. The committee’s report in March 1992 outlined a similar set of recommendations.

The recommendations in the 1992 report have, for the most part, been implemented as circumstances unfolded in the dozen years since the report was compiled. However, not every recommendation in the 1992 report was implemented. In certain instances, projections made or
circumstances assumed in 1992 did not, in fact, turn out to be accurate or relevant at a later date. †