By Jim Walsh
Courier-Post
April 4, 2008
http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080404/NEWS01/804040387/1006/news01
While the Camden Diocese is planning to cut its parish system by almost half over the next two years, a smaller-scale effort is nearing completion in northern Burlington County.
The Diocese of Trenton, which includes Burlington County, is to complete merging eight parishes into four by July, says spokeswoman Rayanne Bennett.
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| The Rev. Leandro DelaCruz celebrates Mass at the Church of the Holy Name in Delran in 2005, shortly after Pope John Paul II died. Photo by Denise Henhoeffer |
The diocese is combining two Burlington City parishes -- St. Paul and All Saints -- and two in Florence, St. Clare and Holy Assumption.
The consolidation also affects two Riverside parishes. St. Casimir is merging with Holy Name in Delran, while its crosstown neighbor, St. Peter, is joining St. Joseph in Beverly.
As part of the restructuring, St. Andrew Parish is moving from remote Jobstown to fast-growing Columbus. It is to share a pastor with the merged Florence parish.
The Northern Burlington deanery was the second group of parishes to be restructured by the Trenton Diocese. An initial consolidation took place in the Trenton area.
A restructuring is now in the works in Monmouth County, and one is planned for southern Burlington County.
"We tried to triage the process to address the most critical areas first," said Bennett. No deadline has been set for the changes to southern Burlington County, she added.
Population changes and a priest shortage were factors in the restructuring, said Bishop John Smith. Officials in the Camden diocese have cited the same pressures.
The mergers will reflect lessons learned from a previous restructuring in the Trenton area, said Bennett.
For instance, the merged parishes will have new pastors and new names, creating a fresh start for parishioners, spokeswoman Bennett said. Members of each merged parish are to recommend three possible names, with the final decision being made by Bishop Smith.
However, existing church buildings will keep their current names and will continue to be used. "Parish members do become attached to their churches," Bennett said when the diocese unveiled its plan in September.
Since the mergers were announced, Bennett said Thursday, "We have actually received very few complaints."
"We wanted to do this on a grass-roots level with a lot of local input," she said.
Merged parishes will have a single pastor with shared membership, finances and properties.
The diocese did not make changes to five other parishes in the northern Burlington region -- St. Mary in Bordentown City, Corpus Christi in Willingboro, St. Charles Borromeo in Cinnaminson, Sacred Heart in Riverton, and Assumption in New Egypt.
The Trenton Diocese, with 157 priests serving 118 parishes, also covers Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean counties. It serves more than 804,000 Catholics.
Reach Jim Walsh at (856) 486-2646 or jwalsh@courierpostonline.com
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