New parish names were voted on by parishioners and take effect July 1
NEWS RELEASE
May 25, 2024
Contact: Dennis Biviano, PR & Media Specialist, (330) 744-8451, ext. 320; dbiviano@youngstowndiocese.org
YOUNGSTOWN, OH–The Most Reverend David J. Bonnar, Bishop of Youngstown announces the names of parish mergers in the Portage, Stark and Trumbull Deanery. They take effect July 1, 2024.
On January 12, the Diocesan Presbyteral Council met to review the progress of the Diocesan Pastoral Plan, which was promulgated by the late Bishop George Murry in 2019 and has continued to be developed since the 2021 installation of Bishop David Bonnar. The regional plan for the six-county Diocese of Youngstown has resulted in structural changes aimed at developing effective ministries and supporting missionary activity. Criteria include the number of parishioners and worshipers, parish finances, population shifts within the region, effective use of buildings and effective use of a limited number of priests and lay ecclesial ministers. As a result of the pastoral plan, almost all of the diocese’s 80 parishes are now part of a collaborative unit or exist as a multi-site parish. Since 2021, as a result of recommendations to Bishop Bonnar, there have been five instances of merger between parishes (where two or more parishes become one parish community).
At its January 12 meeting, the Diocesan Presbyteral Council formally recommended that Bishop Bonnar merge additional parishes throughout the diocese who are already working together in ministry partnerships—sharing priests, deacons, diocesan pastoral associates, additional personnel, Mass schedules, and various parish programs and activities. This recommendation is in line with continuing the efforts of the Diocesan Regionalization Plan that began several years ago. Since January, pastors and parishes have developed plans for parish mergers. These newly merged parishes will be aligned with the structure of other multi-site parishes in the diocese, with Masses and other parish activities continuing to be offered in multiple churches and campuses while ensuring more efficient operations. New parish merger names in the Ashtabula and Mahoning Deanery will be released later this year.
Parish Mergers Effective July 1, 2024:
Portage Deanery:
- Mogadore, St. Joseph parish and Rootstown, St. Peter of the Fields Parish. New merger name: Saint John Neumann Parish.
Stark Deanery
- Canton, Saint Peter and the Basilica of Saint John the Baptist. New merger name: The Basilica of Saint John the Baptist and Saint Peter Parish.
- Canton, Saint Joseph Parish and Saint Joan of Arc Parish. New merger name: Guardian Angels Parish
Trumbull Deanery
- Niles, Saint Stephen Parish and Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish. New merger name: Saint Pope John XXIII.
- Warren, Blessed Sacrament Parish, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish and Saint Mary and Saint Joseph Parish. New merger name: Saint Teresa of Calcutta.
