Tom Kacich | Diocese of Peoria leaders confront a shrinking flock

Tom Kacich, The News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.
·5 min read
26

Jun. 12—Want to purchase a print edition? Here's a map of single-copy locations.

Catholics, who make up about 10 percent of the population in Champaign County and the 26-county Diocese of Peoria, are preparing to downsize in response to a dwindling number of priests and a steep decline in Mass attendance.

Church leaders, including laypersons, have undertaken a multi-year planning process called "Growing Disciples" that aims to prepare the church for a time when there may be half the number of priests in the Peoria diocese that there are today.

"In central Illinois, our cultural and demographic landscape looks different than it did even 10 years ago, while the diocesan structural landscape has remained nearly the same for decades," says the introduction to a planning workbook on the diocesan website.

"The Growing Disciples process is intended to help parishes and schools in the Diocese of Peoria respond to these new realities and move from maintenance to mission."

The process is being guided by a Philadelphia-area consulting group called the Catholic Leadership Institute. It recently completed a similar process in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, called "All Things New." The result there is a reduction in the number of parishes from 178 to 135, effective Aug. 1, and the likely closing of churches.

Church members in a number of St. Louis-area parishes are protesting the moves and have organized an umbrella group called "Save Our St. Louis Parishes" to appeal the changes.

The Peoria diocese has 156 parishes, and Bishop Lou Tylka has acknowledged that it won't when the Growing Disciples process is completed. The diocese currently is served by 145 priests, the majority of whom (77) are 51 years old or older. Most priests retire at 70. The diocese projects ordaining one or two priests a year, meaning that by 2062, there could be anywhere from 70 to 108 priests in the diocese.

The population trend in the diocese also is down, as is the number of Catholics attending Mass and enrolled in diocesan schools. The general population within the diocese dropped 1.3 percent, according to the last census (although it was up slightly in the Bloomington and Champaign areas, also known in the church as vicariates).

Mass attendance dropped 19 percent between 2011 and 2019 and fell another 22 percent between 2019 and 2022. Sunday Mass attendance was 62,510 in 2011 and 39,379 in 2022. The number of baptisms and the number of children in religious education programs fell by 27 percent.

All the data is found in a remarkably frank and transparent series of workbooks on the diocesan website (cdop.org/pastoral-plan/parish-models/). It also includes possible models for combining existing parishes.

In the Champaign vicariate, which includes Champaign and Piatt counties, there are 18 parishes, four elementary schools and a high school. Mass attendance here dropped by 29 percent — less than the diocesan average — between 2015 and 2022. But parish income is stable.

Three options were offered for changes in the Champaign vicariate, all of which would leave Champaign-Urbana parishes unaffected, although one would link St. Matthew with the rural St. Boniface Church near Seymour. St. Mary and Holy Cross in Champaign and St. Patrick in Urbana would remain unchanged. But parishes in small towns and rural areas could be combined.

Under one scenario, for example, Our Lady of the Lake in Mahomet would be merged with Sacred Heart in Farmer City, one of a number of churches combining:

* St. Philomena in Monticello with St. Michael in Bement.

* St. Joseph in Ivesdale and St. Mary in Pesotum.

* St. Lawrence in Penfield would be linked with St. Charles Borromeo in Homer and St. Anthony in Hoopeston.

* St. Thomas in Philo would merge with St. Patrick in Tolono.

* St. Malachy in Rantoul would be joined with St. Elizabeth of Hungary in Thomasboro.

Elementary school enrollment fell between 2002 and 2017 but has stabilized since. Two of the schools (St. Matthew in Champaign and St. Thomas in Philo) are at 80 percent capacity, while St. Malachy in Rantoul is at 65 percent capacity and Holy Cross in Champaign is at 52 percent.

The High School of St. Thomas More in Champaign operates at 49 percent capacity with a 2022-23 enrollment of 210. Even with nearly $300,000 in subsidies from parishes, the high school operated at a $415,000 deficit in 2021-22. It also is carrying $5.5 million in debt.

In the Danville area, Mass attendance dropped by 37 percent between 2015 and 2022, and ordinary income fell by 8 percent, short of the diocesan average of 4 percent. Enrollment at Schlarman Academy Elementary fell from 563 in 2003 to 331 in 2023. Enrollment at Schlarman Academy High School declined from 214 to 100 in the same period.

Two options for changes in the Danville vicariate — both of which would combine the two existing parishes in Danville — were offered. One would combine St. Paul and Holy Family in Danville with St. Anthony in Hoopeston, St. Mary in Westville and St. Isaac Jogues in Georgetown. The other would link St. Paul, Holy Family, St. Isaac Jogues and St. Mary; and combine St. Anthony with St. Lawrence in Penfield and St. Charles Borromeo in Homer.

Under the timeline set out in the process, a recommendation for the changes would be made to Tylka next May, with implementation in 2025 and 2026.

The process of downsizing the diocese and eventually eliminating churches will be an emotional one for longtime Catholics and communities, but it is no different than consolidating schools or hospitals or businesses. It has to be done for the physical health of its dwindling number of priests and for the financial health of the diocese and its churches. The diocese should be commended for doing it openly and forthrightly.