The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Peoria 

The number of ordained priests serving the 26-county Catholic Diocese of Peoria is expected to fall below 100 — down from the current 145 — within the next 10 years.

To address the projected clergy shortage and a downturn in the number of worshippers (church attendance within the Peoria Diocese has fallen by almost 50 percent over the past decade), the diocese is embarking on a reorganization that will involve consolidations and reassignments of personnel.  

While the “Growing Disciples” plan will take until 2027 to be fully implemented, changes are on the way for many parishes beginning July 1. 

Most notably, the diocese’s 156 individual parishes will merge into 75 parishes. Twelve parishes will merge into neighboring parishes, while another 107 will merge to create 38 new parishes, Peoria Diocese Bishop Louis Tylka announced.  

“The world we live in today presents many challenges for us to propose the Gospel in a compelling and impactful way. We cannot ignore the realities we face,” Tylka said in a prerecorded video message issued by the diocese. “We find ourselves with fewer people, fewer priests, fewer resources and a greater responsibility to respond to the call of the Gospel anew.” 

Catholic worshippers in Peoria will soon see the closure of St. Bernard Church (509 E. Kansas St.), while several other parishes in the city will be consolidated. In addition, several priests will be reassigned as part of the Growing Disciples plan. 

Tylka issued letters to worshippers at Peoria’s St. Mark Church, 1113 W. Bradley Ave., on Pentecost

Peoria Diocese Bishop Louis Tylka (Diocese of Peoria photo) 
 

advising them that effective July 1, Monsignor Brian Brownsey would be reassigned as pastor of Holy Cross in Champaign. The Rev. Robert Lampitt will serve as the pastor for St. Mark, while also serving as chaplain for the Newman Center at Bradley University.  

Changes are also coming to St. Patrick in Washington and St. Monica in East Peoria. Also on July 1, the two parishes will be merged with the primary worship site becoming St. Patrick in Washington. In addition, the Rev. Luke Spannagel of Sacred Heart Parish, 504 Fulton St., will be appointed pastor of St. Philomena Church, 1000 W. Albany Lane in Peoria. At St. Edward, 1216 N. 6th; Chillicothe, the Rev. Martin Mwongyera will be promoted from administrator to pastor.  

Some Peoria parishes, such as St. Joseph, 107 N. Richard Pryor Place, and Holy Family, 3720 N. Sterling Ave., will see their structure remain unchanged.  

The interior of St. Bernard Church, 509 E. Kansas St., Peoria, which will be closing soon. (St. Bernard Catholic Church Facebook photo)

According to the Peoria Diocese, five criteria or considerations were used to shape the new parish models: 

• Evangelization Potential, including vibrant liturgies and expanded outreach and Ministry. 
• Geography and Demographics with no priest or lay person needing to travel more than 30 minutes to attend Mass. 
• Natural Affinities and Past Collaboration among parishes. 
• Long Term Sustainability including having the necessary scale and resources for lay leadership, evangelization and financial sustainability. 
• Feedback of priests and the faithful. In addition, the size and physical conditions of parish buildings were considered. 

“Our process was quite thorough,” said Tylka. “We worked with every parish and ministry in the diocese. We gathered hard data, lots of it; baptisms and funeral trends, Mass attendance counts, the number of active priests, upcoming priest retirements, trends in candidates for the seminary, maintenance costs for the churches, parish budgets, projected costs for repairs, geography and population trends — these are some of the factors we dove into.” 

Parish schools will continue to be maintained by the parishes that sponsor them. Disposition of shuttered parish property will be done in consultation with the parish leadership and the diocese. Details of how parish cemeteries will be handled within Growing Disciples are still being worked out. 

“Over the next several months our priests with their staff and parishioners will be discerning with their people what the best use of our facilities should be to provide the Sacraments and necessary pastoral care to all who live in their boundaries and begin to reimagine what a vibrant, evangelizing parish ought to look like,” the diocese stated in an online FAQ page.  

“I know for some, these decisions will bring a great deal of sadness and pain, asking you to let go of the comfort of what is known as your parish. For all of us, we have to use the gift of the Holy Spirit, to understand the necessity of change and have the fortitude to look beyond our own parish to the wider mission we are embracing to bring new life to the Church,” Tylka stated.  

A complete list of Peoria Catholic Diocese parish closures, reorganizations and reassignments can be accessed at www.growingdisciplescdop.org/letters.