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| Cumberland down to 5 Parishes Daily Journal April 4, 2008 http://bishop-accountability.org/news2008/list/tracker2008_03_04.htm CAMDEN — And then there were five. A sweeping reconfiguration of churches in the Diocese of Camden announced Thursday would trim the number of parishes from 124 to 66 in six South Jersey counties. The 12 Roman Catholic churches currently in Cumberland County will be consolidated into five parishes. Only St. Padre Pio in Vineland will remain unchanged as a standalone parish. St. Isidore/Sacred Heart In Vineland, St. Isidore the Farmer and Sacred Heart parishes will merge. St. Isidore, on Magnolia Road, was named the primary worship site for the combined parish. The primary site will be where "parish life will be carried out on a day-to-day basis," said Andrew Walton, spokesman for the diocese. The secondary site is for special circumstances, such as a surge in congregation population or for holidays, as needed, he said. That means there would be regular Masses at St. Isidore the Farmer. But regular Masses would not be celebrated at Sacred Heart unless attendance numbers could support them. "Now we can consolidate our energies and make more efficient use of the resources we have," said Keith Petrosky, who served as chairman of the committee chosen to offer suggestions for St. Isidore's future. Each of the church families includes roughly 3,500 worshipers. Saul Rivera, a freshman at Sacred Heart High School, sees the merger as a consolidation of families. "It's basically a big family," he said. Frank Guaracini Jr., president of Sacred Heart's pastoral council, believes the merger offers both churches an opportunity to grow stronger. "This is our opportunity to really come together in our community of faith and build up our church," he said. St. Francis of Assisi/ Immaculate Heart of Mary Monsignor Victor Muro, vicar of the Hispanic community for the diocese and the priest in charge of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Vineland, was present when Bishop Joseph A. Galante announced the changes Thursday. Muro's church will merge with St. Francis of Assisi on West Chestnut Avenue, which will serve as the primary worship site. The work of the planning teams for both churches took almost a year, and that the merger was well received by parishioners because Immaculate Heart of Mary was feeling the strain of crowded Masses, according to Muro. St. Francis of Assisi Church "is a more accessible location for our needs because here we need more space for parking and for Mass services; in this sense, it helps us a lot," Muro said. "We lose certain independency, and in this sense everybody losses. But we hope that everybody will win with these changes in the programs that we are going to implement gradually in our parishes." Muro said that they will continue to offer the same social services, and the number of religious services will increase. "Instead of four Masses there will be five, and there will be no cancellations of Spanish-language Masses. There will be more to choose," he said. The Immaculate Heart of Mary Church will continue as a historic site, Muro said.. St. John Bosco/ St. Anthony's Mission/ St. Mary Magdalen Some details of the merger planned in Millville and Port Norris have not been announced yet. St. Anthony's Mission in Port Norris will merge with St. John Bosco and St. Mary Magdalen, both in Millville. St. Mary Magdalen will serve as the worship site. An official at St. Mary Magdalen's rectory, who did not give her name, declined to discuss the merger Thursday, saying the church didn't know its plans yet. The Rev. William James Bleiler, pastor for both St. Anthony's Mission and St. John Bosco, did not return calls seeking comment Thursday. Walton did not have specific details on the merger, but said the members of each church would have to decide on the practical issues involved in the situation. The diocese will assist in the transition, he said, adding the general length for each merger would be between 12 and 24 months. Eileen Sorantino of Mill-ville, a parishioner at St. Mary Magdalen, said the church has talked with its members about the possibility of a merger, but she did not know the details yet. Sorantino said she understands the deep challenges the diocese faces and is happy an arrangement has been reached. "I'm so pleased there will be a Catholic church available to have Mass and receive all the sacraments," she said. "With the shortage of priests, we're all very grateful we can go to a nearby church on Sunday." Other changes • In western Cumberland County, four churches are merging: St. Michael Parish in Cedarville, St. Teresa of Avila and Immaculate Conception churches in Bridgeton, and St. Mary's in Rosenhayn. The primary worship sites will be St. Teresa and St. Mary's. |
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