La Crosse plan looks to future, would reduce parish numbers if needed

Published: 2008-05-14

LA CROSSE, Wis. (CNS) -- Under a plan accepted May 8 by Bishop Jerome E. Listecki of La Crosse, the number of parishes in the Diocese of La Crosse could be cut by more than half, from 165 to 75, but no church buildings are slated for closure or sale. The pastoral plan, designed to foresee a future with fewer active priests serving in the diocese, designates the 75 parishes that would remain as "parish centers," with a rectory, a "governance seat" with parish offices, and a pastoral and finance council. They also would have a Sunday liturgical site, a sacramental site and a catechetical site, with weekday Masses offered and the Blessed Sacrament present. They also will, where applicable, coordinate ethnic ministries. Each of the other 90 parishes in the diocese would be designated as either a "liturgical satellite," a "church building," an "oratory" or a "private chapel." All would be connected to a parish center. Bishop Listecki, in a May 8 letter to Catholics of the diocese, said his acceptance of the plan marked the end of the first phase of diocesan reorganization. Phase two establishes protocols to implement the plan, and phase three implements the plan when and where needed.

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