PHILADELPHIA (PA)
The Republic
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First Posted: April 15, 2012 – 3:02 pm
PHILADELPHIA — The Archdiocese of Philadelphia says a dozen Philadelphia-area parishes will be merged into five beginning this summer.
The decisions, announced at Sunday Masses, involve parishes in Manayunk and Germantown in the city and in Coatesville in Chester County.
Archbishop Charles Chaput told congregations that “change is rarely easy” but the steps are needed.
Cited as factors in the mergers are demographic shifts in Catholic populations and concentrated density of parishes in a limited geographic area.
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