#USA #RI – The Bishop of Providence in Rhode Island announced parish closures / mergers on Sunday, May 10th, across the diocese in response to financial woes. These changes were approved by Bishop Bruce A. Lewandowski, C.Ss.R., after consultation with pastors, trustees, finance councils, and the Council of Priests.
The diocese explained these changes due to financial struggles as a result of declining Mass attendance, parishioners / practicing Catholics, number of priests, as well as other financial setbacks. The diocese has also had to payout in the last more than twenty years, more than $21 million dollars to survivors of clergy-perpetrated child sex abuse. A recent report from the state government detailed 75 members of the clergy in the diocese had acted in more than 300 cases of child sex abuse since the 1950s. The diocese has long opposed legislation to extend statutes of limitations for new lawsuits, warning it could risk bankruptcy, as happened in at least forty other U.S. dioceses. In the last month, the Diocese of Oakland had to also close down 13 parishes as a result of financial struggles related to payouts to child sex abuse survivors in lawsuits.
In Warren, Saint Thomas the Apostle Parish will merge into the neighboring Saint Mary of the Bay Parish. The Saint Thomas church building at 500 Metacom Avenue will continue operating as an additional worship site for the combined community, ensuring the faithful in the area still have convenient access to services.
In East Providence, two longtime parishes—Saint Brendan (established in 1909) and Saint Martha (established in 1956)—will formally unite into a new Saints Brendan and Martha Parish. The two communities have already collaborated on ministries and administration since 2023, which has boosted vitality. Both worship sites will remain open and active under the new structure.
Finally, the Saint Kateri Tekakwitha Community, a quasi-parish in Exeter established in 2008, has been canonically suppressed. Limited attendance and activity after the retirement of its longtime priest-administrator, Monsignor Sabourin, made the change necessary. Sacramental records will be preserved at Saint Bernard Parish in North Kingstown.
These changes reflect a common trend in the Catholic Church in the United States of downsizing dioceses attributing their decline to reduced numbers of church-goers and priests, as well as financial burdens from clergy-perpetrated child sex abuse lawsuits. However, at the same time, the Diocese has also seen the largest number of converts to the Catholic Church in a long time at the most recent Easter vigil, which may spark some hope for the future of the diocese.
Image: Cathedrals of Saints Peter and Paul, the seat of the Bishop of Providence.
