The Archdiocese of Cincinnati is going to look much different in the next 100 years than it has in the first 200. As the local Catholic Community celebrates its bicentennial, the Archdiocese is looking at a major restructuring that could lead to the closings of a number of parishes.
The Archdiocese says currently most church buildings are underutilized and their priests are stretched to the limit. While no closings are planned at this time, the local Church says it is working on a reorganization plan that will lead to full churches once again with priests who have time to be present and attend to the needs of their people.
Currently the Archdiocese has 211 parishes and is working on a plan to group them into 50-60 families of parishes which will determine which churches remain open and which will close. The Archdiocese says the current infrastructure and mass schedules were built for a different era. They project going from 140 priests now to 113 in the next five years.
Details about the pastoral planning process are included in the document below. You can also find more information, here.