The Diocese of Buffalo will “resize and remodel” its 160 parishes

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – Buffalo Bishop Michael Fisher and other local Catholic leaders will announce plans to “right-size and reshape” the diocese’s 160 parishes during a news conference Tuesday at 4 p.m.

Their plans, according to a press release, are not specific to particular parishes in Western New York’s eight counties, but “became evident as a result of a comprehensive and collaborative planning process led by its Road to Renewal division.

News 4 will cover their announcement in this article and on tonight’s newscasts.

“The plan that will be presented today is the result of lessons learned during the gathering of parishes as part of the
Family of Parishes Model which began with 36 Parish Families created in December 2021,” indicates the diocese in the press release.

The overhaul comes at a difficult time for the diocese, with a decline in the number of priests and parishioners compounded by the announcement in October that settling nearly 900 child sexual abuse complaints would cost at least $100 million. dollars. About 600 of those cases involved clerics, some of whom faced multiple allegations.

“At the end of the day, what it costs is going to be painful,” Richard Suchan, chief operating officer of the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, told News 4 Investigates during a three-part series on the diocese’s financial future. “This will not be a number that leaves the diocese or any of our parishes in a good financial position.”

The Family of Parishes model has made it possible to optimize diocesan resources in recent years, by rotating masses and priests in neighboring churches into groups or “families” of three to six people (a map of parish families can be consulted here). Several parishes also announced plans to close recently, including St. Lawrence in Buffalo and St. Andrew’s in Tonawanda.

Bishop Fisher will be joined at Tuesday’s press conference by the Rev. Bryan Zielenieski, Vicar for Renewal and Development, and the Rev. Mark Noonan, Pastor of Family #11, ONE Catholic.

Explore News 4 Investigates’ three-part series on the Diocese of Buffalo