KIRKLAND — The Archdiocese of Seattle announced over the weekend its far-reaching plan to consolidate 136 Catholic parishes throughout Western Washington into 60 “parish families.”
The final plan, outlined to parishioners during Saturday and Sunday Masses, places groups of parishes under the leadership of one pastor and at least one assistant priest, effective July 1. The announcement concludes more than a year of research by the archdiocese and begins a three-year period of re-envisioning what each “family” will look like.
“My hope is that parish families will benefit from the shared gifts of people, time, finances, talents and more so that we, as partners in the Gospel, can truly renew parish life,” Archbishop Paul Etienne wrote in an announcement to parishioners.
Each “parish family” will decide how to use its buildings — whether that be holding Masses in different locations, repurposing buildings or closing one altogether.
The 60 groupings, which include eight stand-alone parishes, largely mirror a proposed list released last year. The archdiocese looked at parish sizes, geography, cultural and ethnic makeup and finances when forming them into pairings or groupings. Eight parishes weren’t grouped because they are run by a religious order or serve a specific community, the archdiocese said, such as Vietnamese Martyrs in Tukwila, which holds masses in Vietnamese and English.
The new parish family in Kirkland wasn’t a surprise — Holy Family was grouped with St. John Vianney, 7 miles away. Holy Family has about 2,000 households and St. John Vianney has about 620, according to the diocese.
Theirs would be among the easier partnerships, the Rev. Bryan Dolejsi told parishioners at Holy Family during a post-Mass question-and-answer session. Only Holy Family has a school and the two churches are close to each other. Others might have multiple schools or different needs that the groups will need to consider. But the decisions will depend on the needs of the individual parish families, Dolejsi said.
The first year, he added, is about “getting to know our neighbors.”
The archdiocese has pointed to priest shortages, declining Mass attendance and an uncertain financial outlook as some of the factors leading to the consolidation.
As of May 2023, 11 percent of 161 archdiocesan priests were eligible for retirement and 36 percent were eligible within 10 years, according to a report released last year. Meanwhile, the archdiocese estimated two ordinations per year.
While attendance has declined in many parishes, Dolejsi noted attendance has risen in others, leading to a need to shift resources, he said in an interview.
Will Devereux, who has attended Holy Family for about nine years and is chair of the church’s volunteer pastoral council, said he felt optimistic about his new parish family.
“It’s a big change,” he said. “But I’m excited to use our resources to be able to do more. And it’s not just ‘here is what is going to happen.’”
