The Deacon's Bench
That’s according to recommendations presented to the bishop yesterday.
In a sweeping reorganization of Catholic parish life that will hit the suburbs as well as landmark churches in Detroit’s urban core, the Archdiocese of Detroit unveiled tentative proposals Wednesday night to cluster, close and merge some four dozen parishes in the next five years.
Several Detroit-area Catholic landmark churches are threatened with closure in the next several years, based on recommendations made by a layperson’s panel to Archbishop Allen Vigneron.
The proposals mean nearly one in five Catholic churches in the archdiocese could be shuttered in the coming years. And unlike a previous round of church closings, which shuttered some 30 Detroit churches in 1989, this time the pain will be felt in parishes throughout Detroit’s older suburbs.
The tentative proposal would result in 48 fewer parishes for the archdiocese, which now has 270 parishes. Under the proposal, within five years, nine parishes are proposed to close. And over the next several years, another 60 parishes are proposed to be consolidated to 21.
And you can read the recommendations at this link.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In