I see why families go to Mass in their neighborhoods, near the church school, etc. but there is another trend going on also on a smaller scale. Some catholics are traveling outside of their neighborhoods to attend more reverent parishes. I personally travel 20 miles but have a Catholic church 2, 5, and 10 miles from me. The difference in parishes may not be a problem in many areas but in the Seattle area, not all parishes are the same or even close.
Before the pandemic, there was a thing in the archdiocese of Detroit called the “mass mob” where an inner city parish would be selected each weekend for a “mob” to attend one of its masses to boost its collection and draw attention to a struggling parishes. Many of these old churches are so beautiful; it is hard to accept their closure. But once the population leaves, what can you do?
In the Diocese of Owensboro four different priests have three parishes each for a total of twelve parishes in the diocese. The last time my brother's parishes had a directory made, there were 205 total parishioners, many elderly because when they closed the coal mines most of the working age people had to go elsewhere to find work. Perhaps some businesses may decide to open facilities there and the population will increase again, but Chinese wages are probably much cheaper than American wages so it's not likely. But the rural diocese doesn't usually close churches; it adds them to a priest's workload instead. They did try having two priests responsible jointly for three parishes but found it didn't work out.
“I’m guessing for the first three, four, or five years, it’s going to be a lot of heavy lifting for the clergy. I hope it gets lighter after that.” That is quite a wee sentence all by itself there. Heavy lifting; for YEARS. Please pray for our priests. I am trying not to be the "whine and moan" parishioner of how the bishops/archbishops could have/should have done things differently. We are where we are. Praying for the grace to move forward and bringing as many souls with us. (writing from Cincinnati)
I see why families go to Mass in their neighborhoods, near the church school, etc. but there is another trend going on also on a smaller scale. Some catholics are traveling outside of their neighborhoods to attend more reverent parishes. I personally travel 20 miles but have a Catholic church 2, 5, and 10 miles from me. The difference in parishes may not be a problem in many areas but in the Seattle area, not all parishes are the same or even close.
Before the pandemic, there was a thing in the archdiocese of Detroit called the “mass mob” where an inner city parish would be selected each weekend for a “mob” to attend one of its masses to boost its collection and draw attention to a struggling parishes. Many of these old churches are so beautiful; it is hard to accept their closure. But once the population leaves, what can you do?
https://www.detroitmassmob.com/
In the Diocese of Owensboro four different priests have three parishes each for a total of twelve parishes in the diocese. The last time my brother's parishes had a directory made, there were 205 total parishioners, many elderly because when they closed the coal mines most of the working age people had to go elsewhere to find work. Perhaps some businesses may decide to open facilities there and the population will increase again, but Chinese wages are probably much cheaper than American wages so it's not likely. But the rural diocese doesn't usually close churches; it adds them to a priest's workload instead. They did try having two priests responsible jointly for three parishes but found it didn't work out.
“I’m guessing for the first three, four, or five years, it’s going to be a lot of heavy lifting for the clergy. I hope it gets lighter after that.” That is quite a wee sentence all by itself there. Heavy lifting; for YEARS. Please pray for our priests. I am trying not to be the "whine and moan" parishioner of how the bishops/archbishops could have/should have done things differently. We are where we are. Praying for the grace to move forward and bringing as many souls with us. (writing from Cincinnati)