Community Corner
Worcester Diocese To Close Church In Parish Merger
Bishop Robert J. McManus has announced a new parish consolidation plan for North Worcester that will take effect this summer.
WORCESTER, MA — Bishop Robert J. McManus has announced a new parish consolidation plan for North Worcester that will take effect this summer.
The changes, effective Jul. 1, will merge Our Lady of the Rosary Parish and St. Christopher Parish into Our Lady of Providence Parish, while St. Christopher Church will close. St. Joan of Arc Parish will remain unchanged, according to a May 28 letter from Bishop McManus that he asked be read at all Masses this weekend at the affected parishes.
Under the plan, Our Lady of the Rosary Church and St. Bernard Church will serve as worship sites for all Masses of Our Lady of Providence Parish. Father Jonathan Slavinskas will continue as pastor of Our Lady of Providence Parish.
McManus said the decision follows a parish renewal process that began in September 2025 and involves representatives from Our Lady of Providence, Our Lady of the Rosary, St. Christopher, and St. Joan of Arc parishes.
Those representatives reviewed financial reports, demographic information and each parish’s strengths, challenges and opportunities, according to McManus. They also listened to presentations from each parish team, toured parish facilities, held discussions and prayed together before presenting recommendations to the bishop in April.
The bishop said the Diocese of Worcester has been responding for more than 20 years to demographic shifts affecting local parishes, including “dwindling population, aging facilities and accumulating debt, as well as the clergy shortage,” according to his letter.
McManus said many churches in Worcester and Worcester County were built during the 1950s and early 1960s to serve a growing Catholic population, but some parishes no longer have the population or resources needed to sustain parish life as they once did.
“The plan being announced today seeks to strengthen parish life in North Worcester so that our parishes may more effectively serve the needs of today and of the foreseeable future,” McManus wrote.
McManus asked parishes across the diocese to welcome people who may be looking for a new parish home and to support those affected by the changes, especially parishioners grieving the loss of a church central to their faith lives.
