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Orderly transition
Bishop announces 2-year consolidation plan
By Elise Franco
Youngstown
Bishop George V. Murry of the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown is confident that parishioners will accept a diocese reconfiguration plan announced Friday.
“In order to grow, all of us must leave something behind,” he said. “But we are not alone in our journey.”
Bishop Murry said the final plan is very similar to what was released in February, which will consolidate parishes from 112 to 87 over a period of two years.
“The plan is intended to reduce the number of parishes to a point where they can be managed by fewer priests,” he said, “... and strengthen those parishes to be even more effective in preaching the Gospel.”
The plan merges 22 of the 35 Mahoning County parishes; seven of the 19 in Trumbull County; and three of the 11 in Columbiana County. The rest either will collaborate with other parishes or stand as single units.
Father Bob Bonnot of St. Nicholas in Struthers said his parish will merge with Holy Trinity in Struthers, and he and his parishioners are looking forward to the change.
“Both churches are a part of the Struthers community, so it will be a very mutually enriching coming together,” he said.
Father Bonnot said he wants to make the transition as smooth as possible for members of both churches.
“They understand the facts and are accepting of it,” he said. “They know things had to be adjusted.”
Bill Jones of Boardman said he’s been a parishioner at St. Stanislaus in Youngstown for 30 years and is pleased with the plan.
St. Stanilaus will become a collaborative unit with the merged unit of St. Columba and St. Casimir, both in Youngstown.
“Personally, I think our collaboration is very favorable,” Jones said. “A lot of the parish is elderly, and with the church having originally started in St. Columba, a lot of our parish might have started there too.”
Jones said parishioners will be open and accepting to the change.
“People here take care of each other,” he said. “There was a lot of anxiety over what was going to happen to us, and now I think they’re going to accept this very well.”
Bishop Murry said that when the initial proposal was released in February, five parishes sent in suggestions for incorporation into the plan, and four of those were used in the final document.
Three of the suggestions came from Stark County, one from Trumbull. and one — which wasn’t accepted — from Ashtabula.
Msgr. John Zuraw, vicar for administration and director of permanent deaconate, said in the original plan, St. Joseph in Warren was going to merge with St. Mary in Warren, but they suggested some changes.
“They felt it would be better for them to merge with St. Pius X and Christ Our King,” he said. “They felt they have a very similar population base.”
As a result of the change, St. Mary remains a single unit.
Father Bernard Schmalzried of St. Mary said he was pleasantly surprised by the change.
“Although I’m sure that would have worked out well, realizing we’re going to remain as we are ... I’m very happy,” he said.