Roman Catholic Diocese of Cleveland - Parish Closings

Parish Closings

On Saturday, March 14, 2009, it was announced that 52 parishes in the diocese would be closed or merged (29 parishes closing, 42 parishes merging to form 18 new parishes) due to the shortage of priests, declining numbers of parishioners in some parishes, the migration of Catholic populations to the suburbs and out of the city cores, and financial difficulties in some parishes. A number of parish schools in the diocese were also closed or merged due to declining enrollment, and financial difficulties.

As of Sunday July 4, 2010, there were 173 parishes in the diocese. Letters to all of the parishes from Bishop Richard Gerard Lennon giving his decision on what parishes and schools were closing or merging, and which parishes and schools would remain open, were read to the parishioners by the church pastors at the Saturday Vigil Mass on Saturday March 14, 2009, and at all Sunday Masses on Sunday March 15, 2009. Hardest hit by the closings were downtown Cleveland, downtown Akron, downtown Lorain, and downtown Elyria. Parishioners of twelve of the parishes then sent appeals to the Congregation for the Clergy in Rome.

On March 8, 2012, the Vatican overturned 12 of the church closings (9 in the Greater Cleveland area, 1 in Lorain and 2 in Akron) because the Vatican says that Bishop Richard Gerard Lennon did not follow procedure or canon law in that he did not consult with the priest advisors, and he did not issue a formal mandate for the closing of the churches. In the mean time, according to canon law, the 12 closed churches were ordered to be reopened, and be available to parishioners. On April 10, 2012, Bishop Richard Gerard Lennon announced that he was not going to appeal the decision of the Vatican to the Apostolic Signatura in Rome, thus paving the way for the 12 churches to be reopened. This mandate was implemented starting on June 10, 2012, raising the number of parishes in the diocese from 173 parishes to 185 parishes.