St. Josaphat's Prepares for the Worst

While the Archdiocese of Philadelphia maintains that the fate of Manayunk's five Catholic parishes won't be settled until March, the parishioners of are quietly convinced their church's days are numbered.

"It's going to be closed. Everybody knows it's going to happen," said a member from the lobby of the church after Thursday's 6 p.m. Feast of the Immaculate Conception mass. "Or 'merged,'" she said, rolling her eyes in reference to speculation St. Josaphat and as many as two other Manayunk parishes will be melded into one. "Everybody saw this coming though when they closed the school [in 2005]."

"It's very sad," added Donna Jefford, between Christmas wreath sales. "I was baptised here."

Jefford, a third-generation member of St. Josaphat who raised three children of her own in the church, said she hasn't decided where, or even if, she'll attend mass if the church closes as she expects it will this summer.

"I haven't made up my mind yet," she said. "It's not just losing a church, I know everybody here."

Conjecture about the potential closure of the Polish church, long a hot topic with congregants, intensified in the fall of 2010 when the Archdiocese distributed "Called to Conversion and Holiness"—a pastoral letter that outlined the Archdiocese's intention to examine all 266 of its parishes for their "sustainability."

Then in September, after conducting a study that weighed the relative pros and cons of merging various churches—according to a letter distributed to parishioners last weekend, "demographic shifts, a decline in weekly Mass attendance, a high density of parishes in a relatively small geographic area, the availability of clergy, serious financial challenges, and underutilized parish facilities" were among the factors considered—and determining that Manayunk required "immediate and serious" attention, the Archdiocese presented a merger plan to the pastors of each of the five Manayunk parishes.

Though the specifics of the Archdiocese's plans are unclear, according to NewsWorks, St. Josaphat, and  may have each been targeted for closure.

According to the Archdiocese, the pastoral and financial councils of each of the parishes—groups comprised of congregants, overseen by the pastor—have until February 10 to make their own recommendations, at which point the Archdiocese Strategic Planning Committee will finalize a merger plan to be submitted to Archbishop Charles Joseph Caput in March. If he approves the plan, any mergers it prescribes would become effective July 1.

Despite the speculation, not everyone is convinced St. Josaphat will be among the parishes that are discontinued.

"Nothing is set in stone yet," emphasized a source high within the church who requested anonymity. "I don't know what's going to happen yet, and neither does anyone else."

According to the source, on Dec. 18, members of the St. Josaphat financial and pastoral council will meet to discuss what recommendations they will make to the Archdiocese before its final decision.

"Everyone has a self-preservation instinct," he admitted. "But sometimes the end comes."