19 More Parishes Make Diocesan Restructuring List

St. Boniface parish, 5304 W. Main St., is over 150 years old and was established even before the Village of Monee was incorporated. (Photo by Karen Haave)

By Nick Reiher

Parishioners in 19 Catholic churches in Eastern and Southern Will County, Cook, Kankakee, DuPage and Grundy counties opened their bulletins at masses May 19 to learn the Diocese of Joliet is looking at their parishes in the third and final phase of its “comprehensive restructuring process.”

The Will County parishes are: St. Boniface in Monee; Immaculate Conception in Braidwood; St. Liborius in Steger; St. Patrick in Wilton Center; St. Paul the Apostle in Peotone; and St. Rose in Wilmington.

The Grundy County Parishes are: Assumption in Coal City; Sacred Heart in Kinsman; and St. Lawrence in South Wilmington.

The DuPage County parishes are: Ascension of Our Lord, Oakbrook Terrace; Christ the King, Lombard; St. Alexander, Villa Park; St. John the Apostle, Villa Park; Christ the Servant, Woodridge; St. Luke, Carol Stream; and St. Mark, Wheaton.

The others are St. Mary in Park Forest, Cook County; St. Mary Mission in Reddick, Kankakee County; and St. Lawrence O’Toole Mission in Essex, Kankakee County.

The Diocese of Joliet also includes Ford and Kendall counties.

“Parishioners’ connections to their parishes are both spiritual and emotional. However, change is inevitable and necessary to adapt to trends and circumstances that are happening in our diocese, in the United States and in the universal Church,” said Maureen Harton, Director of Implementation for the Joliet Diocese Targeted Restructuring Committee.

“As we approach the third phase in this restructuring process, the hope is that by pruning some of the branches, we as a diocese can continue to thrive and grow.

“It’s important to re-emphasize that no decisions have been made about any of the parishes that will undergo a restructuring in Phase 3. You will have many questions, and we remain committed to transparency and support throughout this process.”

Farmers Weekly Review contacted representatives of the parishes on the list in Will County. They all referred questions to the Diocese’ note in the bulletin. One person who asked not to be identified said that was done at the request of the diocese.

Harton said in the note that he third and final phase of targeted restructuring began in March.

The Targeted Restructuring Committee considered parishes throughout all the geographic areas of the Diocese, with specific consideration given to DuPage, Southern Will and Grundy Counties, she said.

The TRC considered similar data points that were prioritized in the restructuring of Joliet-area parishes last year, which reduced the number from 16 to seven. The prioritized factors included:

The number of priests available to serve as pastors, as well as the age and health of current pastors;
The availability of qualified professionals, such as business managers, Directors of Religious Education, musicians, etc. willing to work for the Church;
The highest and best use of existing parish facilities;
The minimization of costs to parishes to staff and maintain their facilities; and
Factors such as deferred maintenance of buildings and properties.

Following a separate but related process, Harton said in the letter, the Catholic Schools Office recommended the closing of St. Jude and St. Paul Schools and the opening of Queen of Apostles School on St. Paul’s campus in the fall, which will function as a ministry of the new Queen of Apostles Parish.

Two years ago, the Diocese of Joliet launched a three-year targeted restructuring process to better organize parishes, schools and other Catholic institutions, Harton said in the memo. The process began in July 2022, shortly after the diocese had streamlined its own operations at the Blanchette Catholic Center, the Diocese’ administration center in Crest Hill, and implemented a parish-focused approach to advance Bishop Ronald Hicks’ vision of “Catechesis, Evangelization, and Faith into Action.”

The Targeted Restructuring Committee was created to begin a review of the vibrancy and sustainability of parishes and schools in specific geographic areas of the diocese, she said. The TRC consists of Bishop Hicks, the eight pastors who serve as deans of the diocese’s eight deaneries and senior diocesan staff.

In the fall of 2022, the TRC addressed parish and school situations it deemed urgent. These included St. Dennis and St. Joseph Schools in Lockport, Sacred Heart and St. Pius X Schools in Lombard, and St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Bensenville.

“Some of these parishes will be grouped together and others will be considered on an individual basis,” Harton wrote of the Phase 3 process.

“In addition, some parishes in geographical proximity to the above-listed parishes will be involved in the restructuring process in a spiritually supportive capacity.

“More details about these and other aspects of the targeted restructuring process will be communicated in future announcements. Each parish will receive a written timeline of events that will take place in the parish as well as the diocese. These timelines will vary from parish to parish.”

Harton later told Farmers Weekly Review the timelines should be released in the next few weeks. Final decisions will be announced in late January or early February of 2025, she added.

“Priests and parishioners are free to comment or respond at any time,” she said. “There will be formal listening sessions at each parish in the fall, at which time parishioners can ask questions and voice their opinions.

“The overall financial goal is for parishes to be able to use their available funds on ministry instead of repairing aging buildings. … There are no plans to sell any buildings at this time, however, it could happen in the future.”

Nick Reiher is editor of Farmers Weekly Review. Freelance reporters Karen Haave and Stephanie Irvine contributed to this story.

The Mission of St. Paul the Apostle at Peotone, within the parish of St. Patrick, Wilton Center, was founded on October 2, 1949. On May 29, 1961, the mission of St. Paul the Apostle was canonically designated as a parish. (Photo by Karen Haave)