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March 26, 2022Five parishes in the Blackstone Valley will be combined into two effective July 1, according to announcements made Saturday at the parishes and on a website created for the process, renewmyparish.org.
Father Nicholas Desimone, pastor of St. Mary in Uxbridge announced much of the following information in a video posted on the website. In July 2021 the parishes began a renewal process with representatives from each parish participating. In February they presented recommendations to Bishop McManus.
Effective July 1, Good Shepherd Parish in Linwood/Uxbridge is to be united with St. Mary Parish. The parish will serve the whole Uxbridge community, and will continue to be called St. Mary’s. St. Mary’s Church will be the sole location for all Masses. Father Desimone will remain as pastor.
Also effective July 1, St. Augustine Parish in Millville and St. Theresa and St. Paul parishes in Blackstone will unite as one new parish with a new name. Parishioners will be asked to give Bishop McManus suggestions for the name. St. Paul Church will be the sole location for all Masses. The pastor will be Father John L. Larochelle, who has been associate pastor at St. Augustine’s, St. Paul’s, St. Mary’s and Good Shepherd. He will continue to live in St. Mary’s rectory.
The four parishes’ other associate pastor, Father Lucas M. LaRoche, is expected to receive a new assignment. Father Thien X. Nguyen, St. Theresa’s pastor, said he plans to start a sabbatical July 1.
Deacon John Dugan is expected to remain in ministry at St. Mary’s.
Father Larochelle is to consult with Bishop McManus, the diocesan Office of the Diaconate, and Deacon Michael J. Hafferty, of Good Shepherd and St. Augustine’s, and Deacon Anthony K. Gagliani, of St. Theresa’s, to determine if they will serve the new parish, or at a new assignment.
Current parishioners will automatically be registered at St. Mary’s or the new parish but can choose to join a different parish.
Opportunities to lease or sell the properties of Good Shepherd, St. Augustine’s and St. Theresa’s will be explored, and the proceeds will be used create endowments that will secure and enhance the Church’s ministry to the people of the area. Proceeds from Blackstone and Millville properties are not to be used for St. Paul’s debt, which will remain with the new parish.
Reasons given for the decisions included demographic changes, fewer priests, a small parishioner base at some parishes, and the financial burden of maintaining multiple parish properties. The website says Masses at St. Mary’s and St. Paul’s were the most well-attended and both have the space for growth in number of parishioners and activities.
During the renewal process representatives reviewed each parish’s financial reports and looked at strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The representatives toured each parish’s facilities, talked about data and experiences and prayed. Decisions were made based upon those recommendations, the website says.
Listening and question and answer sessions are planned with Fathers Desimone and Larochelle, and Matthew Regitz of Divine Renovation, “to inspire us to embrace a shared vision for the Church and to equip us for the Church’s essential mission of evangelization.”
“These decisions may be difficult to accept and painful to process,” Father Desimone noted. “In these intervening weeks, let us encourage one another as brothers and sisters should, giving thanks for the graces we have received through our parishes, and then together set out on mission to do the work entrusted to us by Jesus Christ.”
Announcement by Father Nicholas Desimone: https://youtu.be/84emcJwszvQ
