NEW ORLEANS — Financial pressures are forcing the Archdiocese of New Orleans to close or consolidate about 10 percent of its parishes.
This latest round of consolidations is expected to have a major impact on worshipers on the Westbank of Jefferson Parish.
St. John Bosco and St. Rosalie in Harvey are now slated to become one parish.
Father Mark Hyde broke the news to the church communities during his Sunday sermons.
He is the pastor of both churches.
“The church is asking us to become one parish to serve all of Harvey and the surrounding communities from which our parishioners come,” Father Mark said.
The two churches are about 4 miles apart.
“We can choose to be depressed, to moan and to groan about the misfortunes coming to us or we can look to the future and say hey, this is a tremendous opportunity for us.
Consolidation and closure announcements involving 13 parishes in the Archdiocese of New Orleans come after a years-long process evaluating the viability of the region’s Catholic churches.
Nathan Ridge was part of St. Rosalie’s evaluation committee.
“It’s just a big hit, you know,” Ridge said. “Nobody likes change. It’s been a part of the culture and a society and life for so many of these people for a long time, all their lives.”
There are strong emotional ties to both St. Rosalie and St. John Bosco.
Harvey family members have been baptized and married in these churches for generations.
“As this process begins of the merger, I ask that we not complain,” Father Mark said.
According to the Archdiocese, church leaders used real data points, such as the number of registered parishioners and weekly attendance to determine which parishes should merge or close.
“We’re going to consolidate and we’re going to start to build again and set our roots down in a new way and we’ll move forward in Christ,” Ridge said.
Church members will have until July 1 to decide which of the two Harvey worship sites will remain open and pick a new name for the combined parish.
The changes come as the Archdiocese of New Orleans tries to deal with hundreds of clergy abuse claims, which led to a bankruptcy filing in 2020.
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