No changes will be immediate. The implementation timeline will take the needs of each parish community into consideration. As we would expect, this will involve making appropriate decisions on pastoral leadership, staffing and resource allocations for ministry and facilities. Thus, timelines may differ by parish and region. All churches will remain available for sacramental needs, such as weddings, baptisms and funerals, in the interim.

If we consider the challenges the Catholic Church of Baltimore City faces today with deferred maintenance and low Mass attendance, as well as multiple unmet opportunities to better serve the needs of the boarder community, we could not consider ourselves to be good stewards if we did not take bold steps to ensure a brighter future. Our actions are intended not just for tomorrow but for years to come. This requires us to carefully take stock of and realign our human and material resources for revitalized parishes and ministries to actively bring Christ’s healing presence to those in need.

No. The Seek the City to Come initiative will realign Catholic Churches and will NOT involve schools. Schools will NOT be affected by the Seek initiative.

Where parishes are merged or realigned into one particular location designated as the “seated parish,” parishioners are welcome to move to that location or any other parish that they may choose.

We have known for a long time that we could not continue to ignore the decline in Mass attendance and increased resources required to keep up with building and property maintenance. To achieve the Church we envision, one where parishioners are welcomed, engaged and constantly growing in faith; and one strengthened by our varied ethnicities, cultures and backgrounds, we must realign and consolidate our efforts and resources. Our failure to do so would be shortsighted and render us to be poor stewards of the time, talent and material gifts with which God has blessed us. Even with changes in our building footprint, the Church will remain present in Baltimore as we have since 1789, radiating Christ from sanctuaries to street corners.

We are blessed to enjoy rich diversity as an archdiocese and nowhere is it more evident than among our parishes in Baltimore City and the surrounding areas. Throughout the listening, visioning, discernment and modeling stages, the needs of Black and Hispanic parishes – as well as those of other ethnic congregations – have remained prominent. Our reimagined, realigned and revitalized parishes and ministries must be beacons of radical hospitality, welcoming all and actively bringing Christ’s healing presence to those in need.

One does not relate to the other. The Seek the City process began long before the passage of the law lifting the statute of limitations and the subsequent filing for Chapter 11 reorganization. Parishes are separate entities from the Archdiocese; therefore, all assets or debts that belong to a parish, stay with that parish, including following that parish when merged into a newly formed parish. All newly formed parishes will also remain entities separate from the Archdiocese.

Over the past decade, we have, in fact, become smaller. Mass attendance has decreased and the COVID pandemic exacerbated the challenge. What we are doing now is wisely realigning our human and material resources so that ministries are better focused and fortified in ways they can make greater impact.

Care will be taken to inventory and catalogue the sacred articles that make up the patrimony of the parish. Nothing will be sold or distributed without careful consideration of its value to the newly formed parish. Nothing will be distributed or sold without the proper permission of the Archbishop or his delegate.

The process is spelled out in Church law, also known as Canon Law. Church closing are not taken lightly and would occur during the implementation phase. The Archdiocese will pay strict adherence to proper procedures.

Our decisions to close and transition churches properties will be a massive undertaking that will proceed over time and be guided by our primary desire to ensure the success of the Seek the City initiative. Rather than pouring resources into aging parish campuses, the Archdiocese can direct needed resources to our re-envisioned models that promise to be welcoming centers of evangelization and service to the broader community.

The Archdiocese of Baltimore is blessed to have dedicated and talented ministry leaders and we are excited about the possibilities of realigning our considerable human resources with parishes to ensure the success of the Seek the City initiative. As pastors and associates are assigned to congregations, ministry leaders will have opportunities to explore alignment with the newly configured parishes. This includes the role of pastoral staff, parish councils and other leadership roles. Changes will not be made immediately and will follow prayerful and careful consideration.

The newly formed parishes will need your ministry and service. When the transition begins, care will be taken to assure that those who wish to serve will have a place in ministry in the newly formed parish.

Our Seek the City initiative is committed to serving the needs of our brothers and sisters in the broader community. We do this not because everyone who may be in need is Catholic but because we are. Established ministries and services will be carefully considered under the new parish models.

Understanding our history and attachment to parishes that will be merged, we expect in some cases that it would be wise to retain the name of the seated parish. Meanwhile, other circumstances may dictate the need for a new name. As with all aspects of the Seek the City to Come initiative, this will require prayerful consideration and be determined on a case-by-case basis.

The Sacramental life of the Church is paramount to our existence as a faith community, and nothing is more treasured than these sacred moments. Our Seek the City initiative requires that we are both attentive to established commitments and schedules for sacramental celebrations, and at the same time open to adjusting expectations to assure the sacramental life of the Church proceeds with minimal disruption. Because it will take time to implement the approved changes, some plans may not be impacted while others will need to take place at the newly merged seated parish.

With the approval of the Seek the City to Come recommendations, the Archbishop will promulgate a date when closed parishes will no longer be able to operate. At present, this has not been determined. The closure date will be shared during the implementation phase. No changes will be immediate.

All sacramental books from merged parishes will be kept at the new parish. This will occur at the time the parishes are merged. If anyone has requests for sacramental certificates now, they should approach the current parish for these.

Appeal gifts are never used for purposes other than those stipulated in the Appeal Spending Plan (Read details here: https://www.archbalt.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/CR-Closing-Ad-2023_RV6.pdf). Contributions to the Annual Appeal support vital ministries and are securely managed as part of a separate, perpetual and irrevocable trust established in 1992.

The parish is a separate entity from the Archdiocese. Therefore, whatever assets the parish own, stay with that parish or follow that parish when merged into a newly formed parish. All newly formed parishes will remain separate entities from the Archdiocese.