In New York, Parishes With Unusual Names Closing Faster

For what it’s worth, in the merging of parishes the Archdiocese of New York just announced, more of the parishes being merged into others had unusual names than had those into which they’re being merged.

In the former group are St. Roch (two of them), Our Lady of the Scapular, Holy Agony, St. Pius V, St. John Vianney, Nativity of the Blessed Lady, St. Ursula, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, St. Sylvia, and St. Thomas Aquinas.

In the latter are Our Lady of Carmel, St. Adalbert, St. Rita of Cascia, St. Vito, and Our Lady of Victory. Most of them are the more common St. Marys, St. Peters, and Holy Rosarys.

I’m not sure what this means, if anything. My only guess is that the first group were built for ethnic groups that have moved out of their former neighborhoods and been replaced by people who weren’t Catholic, while those in the second group had or developed an ethnically broader group of parishioners and perhaps from a wider area.