The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, which oversees parishes in six counties including Butler, is expected to reveal its plan for a massive reorganization of parishes and clergy this weekend.
Three years ago, Bishop David Zubik created the ‘On Mission For The Church Alive!” initiative to combat the declining number of people attending mass and the declining number of priests.
There are currently 188 churches with 225 church buildings in the diocese. The bishop says they will now be grouped in 48 multi-site parishes.
The parishes will then be tasked with working together over the next few years to come up with a plan to best use limited resources, which will likely eventually mean the closure of some churches.