The altar of St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Lawrenceton, Mo., is photographed on Tuesday, May 9, 2023, and is one of the Ste. Genevieve County parishes in the Archdiocese of St. Louis and dates back to 1872.Â
SHREWSBURY — A Vatican court has rejected the final appeal of parish closures under the “All Things New†downsizing of the Archdiocese of St. Louis.
The Dicastery for the Clergy upheld Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski’s decision to close St. Lawrence parish in Ste. Genevieve County and merge it with St. Agnes parish 6 miles away in Bloomsdale, a spokeswoman for the archdiocese said Friday.
The “All Things New†plan announced in May 2023 cut the number of parishes from 178 to 135 through closures and mergers across the archdiocese, which includes St. Louis city and 10 surrounding counties in Missouri. The reorganization process was launched to address a declining number of Catholics and priests to serve them.
Members of 13 parishes appealed Rozanski’s closure decrees to the Vatican court, which upheld the closures of nine parishes:
People are also reading…
- Blessed Teresa of Calcutta in Ferguson.
- Our Lady of Sorrows in St. Louis.
- St. Barnabas in O’Fallon.
- St. Bernadette in Lemay.
- St. Catherine of Alexandria in Ste. Genevieve County.
- St. Francis of Assisi in Franklin County.
- St. Matthew the Apostle in St. Louis.
- St. Paul in Franklin County.
- St. Roch in St. Louis.
The court also rejected the appeal from St. Agnes parishioners to stop the merging of St. Lawrence parish. Rozanski’s decision to close three parishes was overturned, and those parishes remain standing: St. Angela Merici near Florissant, St. Martin of Tours in Lemay and St. Richard in Creve Coeur.
Three closed parishes — St. Barnabas, St. Paul and St. Roch — appealed the dicastery’s decision to the Vatican’s supreme court, the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura.
The tribunal rejected St. Roch’s appeal on Sept. 11, while the other two parishes are still awaiting decisions.
“All Things New†did not close any of the parish churches, which continue to host weddings, funerals and the occasional Mass.
But church closures could be coming next, according to leaders of the group Save Rome of the West based in St. Charles County.
“We’re still keeping an eye on every parish that is formally closed to be sure that no (church closure) decree comes down for them,†said Jason Bolte, the group’s co-founder. “People are not so naive as to believe that closing churches is going to help strengthen the Catholic church overall.â€
Rural parish in Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis hopes to keep their historic church open. Video by Jesse Bogan and Gary Hairlson
St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Lawrenceton, Mo., photographed on Monday, May 8, 2023, one of the Ste. Genevieve County parishes in the Archdiocese of St. Louis and dates back to 1872. The congregation there is one of several historic parishes in the county now contemplating its fate before the All Things New reconfiguration plan is implemented. The church can close or merge with another church under the plan. Photo by Christian Gooden, cgooden@post-dispatch.com
Pershing Carron, 90, arrives to open the sanctuary of St. Lawrence Catholic Church for a journalist on Tuesday, May 9, 2023, in Lawrenceton, Mo. Carron lives next door to St. Lawrence and is one of the primary caretakers of the Ste. Genevieve County property. He also has two sets of grandparents in the cemetery, sings in the church choir and rings the bell every Sunday at its only Mass at 8:30 am. Photo by Christian Gooden, cgooden@post-dispatch.com
St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Lawrenceton, Mo., photographed on Monday, May 8, 2023, one of the Ste. Genevieve County parishes in the Archdiocese of St. Louis and dates back to 1872. The congregation there is one of several historic parishes in the county now contemplating its fate before the All Things New reconfiguration plan is implemented. The church can close or merge with another church under the plan. Photo by Christian Gooden, cgooden@post-dispatch.com
Pershing Carron, 90, poses at the grave marker of his great-grandfather, Hearsta Richard Veith, on Tuesday, May 9, 2023, at St. Lawrence Catholic Church cemetery in Lawrenceton, Mo. Veith died in 1872, the same year the church he helped establish was dedicated in rural Ste. Genevieve County.
