At least 80 parishes and places of worship recommended to merge or close after latest Diocese of Buffalo consolidation meeting

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Diocese of Buffalo completed its series of consolidation meetings Thursday evening at St. John Paul II Parish in Lakeview.

Clergy and parish administrators in the Vicariate of Southern Erie Co. have learned that 13 parishes have been recommended for merger or closure. The Vicariate currently has 30 parishes.

A full list of recommended mergers and closures can be found here.

After two weeks of consolidation meetings across Western New York’s 8 counties, the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo has recommended the merger or closure of a collection of 80 parishes, schools and places of worship.

“We are really concerned about the future of the Church,” said Father Bryan Zielenieski, vicar for renewal and development for the Diocese of Buffalo.

Initially, the diocese announced a projection that 34% of the 160 parishes would be merged or closed.

But after the consolidation meetings, 50% was recommended.

“It was a rough idea of ​​where we thought things were going to end up,” Zielenieski said. “Again, we won’t know this official figure until September 1.”

Bishop Fisher is expected to announce final merger and closure recommendations on September 1.

Parishes have until July 15 to either accept the plan or propose a new one to the diocese.

Some parishes, however, said the diocese was not using the correct data to make its decisions.

Members of the parish council of Our Lady of Perpetual Help said Wednesday evening that the diocese was using incorrect data on sacraments, baptisms and marriages.

“The numbers I have for Our Lady of Perpetual Help are the ones I was given,” Zielenieski said. “Again, that’s why this is the consultation phase. If there’s something wrong with these numbers, we need to talk about it and get the data correct.”

There have been several public parish meetings since the consolidation recommendations were made public. As for the overall reaction of parishioners at these town hall meetings, Zielenieski had a particularly direct response.

“where were you?” » asked Zielenieski. “If you didn’t go to church last month and were shocked by this decision, we need to ask ourselves: Maybe I shouldn’t be so shocked, because I didn’t come here .”