June 2, 2013

Dear Friends in Christ:

Today as we celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi we solemnly remember that the Body and Blood of Our Lord and Savior is present at every Mass in the Eucharist.  The presence of Jesus Christ expresses itself fully on the local level in the life of our parish church.  It is in the parish where we are nourished by God’s Word and the Sacraments, and where spiritual fulfillment and pastoral care are found.

In the Fall of 2010, a pastoral letter was issued to parishioners throughout the Archdiocese.  It outlined the necessity of an in-depth examination of all parishes in order to gauge whether they possessed the necessary resources to remain vibrant and sustainable faith communities.  This process, known as Parish Area Pastoral Planning, is designed to be as collaborative and consultative as possible.  Its goal is to provide pastors, after consulting their parish leadership, with the opportunity to dialogue with members of the Archdiocesan Strategic Planning Committee in providing joint recommendations to the Archbishop for growth and sustainability within their respective geographic areas.

During the process additional steps are taken to be as inclusive as possible.  In the majority of cases, the regional bishop and the dean meet with the pastors as well as their pastoral and finance councils to hear their concerns and receive their recommendations.  Additionally, the recommendations of all parish mergers are brought before the Council of Priests and the College of Consultors by the Archdiocesan Strategic Planning Committee for their observations and approval respectively.

While this process is expected to take anywhere from five to eight years to complete in the entire Archdiocese, certain areas, ours among them, required a study at this time.  Due to a number of factors including a shift in Catholic population, a high density of parishes in our small area, as well as declines in Mass attendance, Sacramental activity, the availability of priests to staff parishes, and the condition of facilities, mergers were proposed.  These proposals were shared with pastors and lay leaders from all of our local parishes as well as the Archdiocesan Strategic Planning Committee, the Council of Priests and the College of Consultors.  Recently, the final proposals were accepted by the Archbishop.

As a result our parish will be merging with St. Philomena Parish to form a new parish effective July 1, 2013.  Everyone will attend Mass at the current St. Philomena Church.  For the time being, the St. Cyril of Alexandria Church building will still be maintained as a worship site for weddings, funerals and feast days.  Sunday Mass may also be celebrated at the worship site at the discretion of the pastor of the newly formed parish and his newly formed pastoral council.  Additionally, all of our parish assets, debts, buildings and sacramental records will be transferred to the care of the newly formed parish.  This parish will be named Saint Philomena.  The pastor of the newly formed parish was publically announced with the priest personnel assignments this week.  He will work toward the smoothest possible merger with leaders from the merging parishes.

I know this news may cause sadness and pain.  In the work of building up the Church and maintaining God’s Kingdom on earth we must let go of something so near and dear to each of our hearts.  I pray that you will trust in the Lord as we move forward together.  May He grant us all the grace, strength, and wisdom to complete this process with charity and patience. This experience will be challenging and exciting at the same time.  We are working to preserve a Catholic Church in Philadelphia so that the spiritual and pastoral needs of generations yet unborn will be tended to with the same love and care you have experienced and witnessed.  All of us must be willing to labor together for the Lord to achieve that goal.

Over the coming weeks the pastor of the newly formed parish will consult leaders from all affected parish communities to create new pastoral and finance councils, parish committees and identify the appropriate staffing of all parish ministries.  A transitional team will be assembled made up of lay leaders from each of the merging parishes to assist in moving forward with building a new parish community.  Additional details regarding Parish Area Pastoral Planning in the Archdiocese can be found on the Archdiocesan website.

Currently, many of our neighbors are learning of additional parish mergers in our area.  St. Alice Parish will merge with and keep the name of St. Laurence Parish at that location.  St. Louis Parish will merge and keep the name of Blessed Virgin Mary Parish at that location.

In every death there is a resurrection; with all growth there is pain, but as Catholics we believe we can do all things in Christ who strengthens us.  I pray that our Heavenly Father will fill you with every grace and assist all of us to work toward the strongest possible parish communities.  May the peace and joy of the Lord be with you.

                                                            Sincerely in Christ,

                                                            Rev. Dominic Tran Minh Duc

                                                            Pastor

CONGRATULATIONS!

We wish our 8^th grade class the best of luck for their high school future as they celebrate their graduation this Wednesday evening, June 12^th, at 7:00 PM. We also would like to congratulate our first Pre-K Class and our Kindergarten Class on their end of year accomplishments!