Thousands of Catholics in central Kentucky provided input in the first phase of the Archdiocese of Louisville’s Parish Planning Process, which concluded in August. The second phase of the process is now underway.
The Archdiocese of Louisville began a year-and-a-half-long parish planning process in May to consider how best to “address the evolving needs within our local church.”
In the first phase, parishes were provided a case statement and statistics, highlighting four organizational issues to consider when planning for the future:
- The available number of priests to serve parishes and parishioners
- The number of aging and underutilized facilities and properties
- Changing demographics
- Stewardship of resources
Then the archdiocese asked parishes to consult with parishioners and compile qualitative reports indicating their strengths, the challenges they face and what is unique to their community. Parishes were also asked to provide quantitative reports, examining everything from participation in Mass and other sacraments to facilities and finances.
“We’re pleased that 100 percent of the parishes completed their reports,” said Dr. Brian B. Reynolds, chancellor and chief administrative officer. “There is evidence that the parishes took the task seriously and know this is an important process.
“What is particularly significant about part one of the process, we imagined it would engage 1,200 persons or so, as parishes had consultations,” he said, noting that the process is meant to be synodal. “But some of the parishes did very broad-based surveys, and a few even had town hall gatherings. It is evident there were several thousand people who had input.”
For the second phase, which began this month, every parish has received a binder containing summarized reports on each of the parishes in their deanery, along with maps and comparative charts of the data provided by the parishes.
Each parish is asked to consider the following key question, said Reynolds:
“In light of the parish reports, changes in the number of available priests, the data on demographics, the information on facilities and finances, what possible changes would you recommend?”
“Every parish has a chance to make their recommendations; it’s not just the biggest parish or the strongest parish,” said Reynolds. “Every parish does an analysis about what should happen when they look at their deanery. Every parish reviews the data and answers these questions.”
Recommendations are due to the archbishop in January. Part three will begin in the winter and will run through spring. Part four, which will result in a final plan, is expected to run from June to October of 2026.
Reynolds said Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre places a high value on the transparency of the process.
For part three, he noted, “The archbishop will appoint a commission to review the parish recommendations. They will draft a deanery report, and then we’ll have deanery gatherings to hear about these reports.”
He also noted that the process relies heavily on information to ensure the plan will meet the needs of the whole archdiocese into the future.
“Planning has to be data-driven, not people’s opinions,” he said. “If we don’t plan, we are susceptible to other people making decisions.”
For instance, he said, “We’re dependent now on religious orders and foreign priests” to staff parishes.
The case study introduced at the beginning of the planning process provided a litany of statistics, including data portraying an imbalance between the number of priests and parishes in the archdiocese.
The Archdiocese of Louisville had, as of last spring, 110 parishes, including missions and a shrine. There were 57 archdiocesan priests assigned to one or more parishes. The remaining parishes were staffed by 35 non-archdiocesan priests (those in religious orders and from other countries).
If one of the religious orders decided to move its priests somewhere else, he noted, “that could have a major impact on us.”
