What is canonical closing?

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My childhood parish, which is closing, is having their final Mass next Sunday, which I am planning to attend. Bishop Lennon will be the celebrant. The diocesan newspaper mentioned that the canonical closing will be 31 October. What is done in a canonical closing? Is it open to the public?
 
My childhood parish, which is closing, is having their final Mass next Sunday, which I am planning to attend. Bishop Lennon will be the celebrant. The diocesan newspaper mentioned that the canonical closing will be 31 October. What is done in a canonical closing? Is it open to the public?
A “a canonical closing” is simply an official closing according to the Canon Law of the Church. It usually involves a Rite and the removal of the relics from the altar, the removal of the Blessed Sacrament from the tabernacle and the stripping of the Sanctuary,etc.
 
A “a canonical closing” is simply an official closing according to the Canon Law of the Church. It usually involves a Rite and the removal of the relics from the altar, the removal of the Blessed Sacrament from the tabernacle and the stripping of the Sanctuary,etc.
Is it open to the public?
 
It may depend on how controversial the closing is. It may not be open if there is the possibility of being disrupted by protesters.
I know it is not going to be protested. The parishioners (and Parish Council), along with the pastor asked to have the parish closed, as they were losing members for over 5 years (only one baptism in 5 years and about 3 funerals a week, plus parishioners moving away). They also had several failed fundraisers and were about $80,000 in debt. The closure has been planned since last year.
 
I know it is not going to be protested. The parishioners (and Parish Council), along with the pastor asked to have the parish closed, as they were losing members for over 5 years (only one baptism in 5 years and about 3 funerals a week, plus parishioners moving away). They also had several failed fundraisers and were about $80,000 in debt. The closure has been planned since last year.
One baptism in 5 YEARS?

Honestly, that sounds abysmal. I would be ashamed to be a member of that parish. However, the parish I’m at has baptisms every week, so I have a really hard time imagining a parish that only had one in 5 years.
 
One baptism in 5 YEARS?

Honestly, that sounds abysmal. I would be ashamed to be a member of that parish. However, the parish I’m at has baptisms every week, so I have a really hard time imagining a parish that only had one in 5 years.
I actually think that the 3 funerals a week says more. That’s over 160 a year! Seems that this parish was literally dying off.
 
I actually think that the 3 funerals a week says more. That’s over 160 a year! Seems that this parish was literally dying off.
It was. The demographics of the neighbourhood changed, with most of the younger parishioners moving away from the parish. The people who moved into the neighbourhood were not Catholic. All who were left were the senior citizens who were unable or unwilling to move. The parish school had already closed several years ago. There were too few people left to support the parish, so the decision to close it was made.
 
This is a common theme in the Cleveland diocese. People are just NOW facing the facts, even though we could have seen this coming 15 years ago.

As I told someone from a neighboring parish to the one that the original poster is referring to once, “John Kennedy is not still the president, the building boom isn’t still happening, and parishes are not growing.”
 
This is a common theme in the Cleveland diocese. People are just NOW facing the facts, even though we could have seen this coming 15 years ago.

As I told someone from a neighboring parish to the one that the original poster is referring to once, “John Kennedy is not still the president, the building boom isn’t still happening, and parishes are not growing.”
Parishes in the Cleveland Diocese are growing, but not in the city or inner-ring suburbs. The inner-city and inner-ring suburban parishes are rapidly declining, as people move to areas farther away from the city, such as Medina, Avon Lake, and Streetsboro. The suburb (Maple Hts.) where the parish is closing also happens to have the highest foreclosure rate in the state, the city is in debt, and many houses are vacant after being taken over by the banks. The people who are buying these houses are not Catholic anyway.
 
I can relate to this. I’m from a small parish on the prairies of South Dakota. We just had our third funeral in as many weeks. The last baptism was mid-summer and our First communion class was 4 kids, back in May. Last wedding celebrated here was an entire year ago… its not that we aren’t takign care of our parish, we are… we have a very active parish. There just isn’t the jobs, etc to keep younger people around a farming and ranchign community. If we had a service industry or manufacturing plant, it would improve. Those of us that are ‘under 30’ in the parish:
  1. I am a single male, who teaches school.
    2-3: married, also teach school (daughter was last baptism)
    4-5: married (last marriage)
    6: single male, landscape
This about sums up the ‘20-something’ category that is active in our parish. there are a few others, but they are single men that dont’ attend regularly, party and are involved in the agriculture world. (not saying that there are correlations between those!)

I can relate… just thought i’d offer my prayers. I hope we don’t have a canonical closing any time soon! I feel we are centrally located so will be a viable parish for many more years… plus around here the ‘rumor’ is that the diocese will keep brick structures open and close the wood churches first…
 
For what it’s worth. There are no rituals per se for “canonical closing,” and the term is something of a new one to me. There is nothing specified in the code at least.

But I think Br. Rich is pretty much on target. It is highly likely that what will be done will involve removing the Blessed Sacrament and any blessed or consecrated items from the church building.

Still it’s interesting (somewhat) to keep in mind that “parish” and “church” are not identical notions.

A parish is a certain community of the Christian faithful stably constituted in a particular church, and its pastoral care is entrusted to a priest as pastor under the authority of the diocesan bishop (c. 515). It has a public juridic personality in canon law (kind of like a civil corporation but underline kind of like!), so that it survives the coming and going of pastors and parishioners.

The term “church” can mean both a building set aside for divine worship by the faithful but also a portion of the people of God, such as a diocese, which is called a particular church in canon 515 above. In context though, a church is a sacred building destined for divine worship to which the faithful have a right of access for divine worship, especially its public exercise (c. 1214). It is an ecclesiastical property that belongs to the parish.

Now, parishes do usually have churches, but not always. Most do not when they are started. Instead, they use some other place for sacred worship. As well, a church in the sense of a sacred building could survive the closing of a parish. The church could continue as a place designated for sacred worship.

But in most cases today when parishes are closed, the church will no longer be used for sacred worship.

Two things would then be involved.

First, closing of the parish by the diocesan bishop (c. 515 §2). It would cease to exist as a public juridic person. This would mean distribution of its temporal goods, patrimonial rights and obligations according to law (c. 123). That would involve the removal and transfer or care of its property, records, assets, liabilities, etc. The precise distribution depends on a number of things.

Then possibly second, relegating its church to non sacred use (c. 1222), and hence the removal of the Blessed Sacrament and sacred objects. The altar would be secularized by a decree of the competent ordinary (c. 1212). If there are relics, I would certainly expect they would be removed…

Both kinds of closing are done by a decree of the diocesan bishop, who must first consult he presbyteral council, rather than by some kind of ritual. In practice, most dioceses have an additional and broader consultation or process. It’s always sad.
 
Parishes in the Cleveland Diocese are growing, but not in the city or inner-ring suburbs. The inner-city and inner-ring suburban parishes are rapidly declining, as people move to areas farther away from the city, such as Medina, Avon Lake, and Streetsboro. The suburb (Maple Hts.) where the parish is closing also happens to have the highest foreclosure rate in the state, the city is in debt, and many houses are vacant after being taken over by the banks. The people who are buying these houses are not Catholic anyway.
I agree.

I hear that Holy Trinity in Avon is growing so fast that they may consider splitting it. But they are in the minority.
 
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