OAKLAND (CA)
USA Today [McLean VA]
April 30, 2026
By Noe Padilla, USA TODAY
East Bay Catholics were informed on Wednesday, April 29, that the Diocese of Oakland would close 13 churches across the region amid financial struggles and years of declining parishioner numbers.
In a letter to the diocese, the Bishop of Oakland, Michael Barber, stated that the majority of the closures were in Oakland, along with four other churches in Alameda County and two in Contra Costa County.
Here’s the list of the 13 churches being closed:
- Mary Help of Christians, Oakland
- Our Lady of Guadalupe site at Blacow Road, Fremont
- Our Lady of Lourdes, Oakland
- Sacred Heart, Oakland
- St. Albert the Great, Alameda
- St. Andrew Kim Korean Pastoral Center, Oakland
- St. Augustine, Oakland
- St. Barnabas, Alameda
- St. Paschal Baylon, Oakland
- St. Patrick, Oakland
- St. Rose of Lima, Crockett
- St. Stephen, Walnut Creek
- Transfiguration, Castro Valley
Of the 80 churches throughout the region, Oakland was home to 19 churches or pastoral centers.
Barber explained that closures were a part of the next step in the “Mission Alignment Process,” or a “renewal” of the church’s mission to align “our operations with our sacred mission,” by focusing on fostering “prayerful celebrations of the Mass” and prioritizing the “care of the souls of their local parishes.”
“The status quo is not sustainable nor is it serving God’s people,” Barber said in his letter.
Since the early 2010s, the Diocese of Oakland has seen a decline in Mass attendance and, in turn, in participation in Catholic traditions and schools, leading some parishes to face financial struggles, according to Barber.
The church has also struggled to recruit priests for its Diocese, resulting in an “all-time low of priests assigned to our 80 parishes.”
“While many of our parishes were built to serve the Catholic Church of 1965, we now have far fewer priests and parishioners,” Barber said in his letter. “Not all parishes can afford to pay for a support staff to fully serve the parish and our missionary aspirations. Others are surviving on rental of parish parking lots or empty school facilities.”
Also, the Diocese of Oakland is facing additional financial woes, as in 2023, it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after hundreds of lawsuits were filed against the church regarding allegations of sexual abuse by priests over decades.
Although it’s unclear how much the Diocese of Oakland may owe as a result of these cases, according to bankruptcy filings from 2023, it indicates an estimated liability of $100 million to $500 million. Court documents also reveal that the church owes this money to between 200 and 999 creditors.