By Renée St. Martin Wizeman

How can the needs of parishes be met as the number of priests declines? Meeting over the past several months, groups based in each of the Diocese of Helena’s six deaneries have been working on responses to that challenge.

The work by the deanery groups marks the third major phase of Living Stones, the diocesan initiative meant to identify and recommend the fair and equitable distribution of pastoral resources as priests retire, some after the customary age of 70, and the number of younger priests to succeed them is insufficient.

Living Stones, an outgrowth of the 2007 diocesan plan Come to the Light, began with a 228-question parish inventory distributed to parishes and missions in the spring of 2009. Parish and mission staff completed the inventory, then held meetings with parishioners to discuss their parishes’ strengths, needs and ways of meeting those needs with fewer priests. The inventory responses and information from the meetings went to the diocesan office of Pastoral Planning Services.

In the six deanery planning groups, each of a deanery’s parishes is represented by its pastor or pastoral administrator. A lay representative from each parish and mission also is in each group.

The deanery groups have reviewed the information received by Pastoral Planning Services, information that included census data, and are using it as they work on developing recommendations intended to show how each deanery will support its parishes and missions with fewer priests.

Sister Rita McGinnis, a member of the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, directs Pastoral Planning Services and has facilitated Living Stones. She said that the collaborative effort evident in each deanery is important, and that she appreciates the energy being put into Living Stones at both the parish and deanery levels.

“This process allows for meaningful involvement by people who know their parishes and regions best, and they are bringing their best thinking to the table to create recommendations,” she said.

Of the Diocese of Helena’s 52 priests in active ministry, 62 percent are at least 60 years old. Thirteen men are in discernment and formation for the priesthood, but completing seminary formation requires at least four years and the newly ordained do not pastor parishes immediately.

Sister Rita said several guiding principles for solutions to the parish needs/pastoral staffing imbalance have been emphasized throughout the process. According to these principles, solutions must be in communion with the mind of the Church, must not compromise priests’ health or safety through unreasonable requirements and must give careful consideration to the impact on rural and American Indian parishes.

“The ultimate goal is to provide quality pastoral care for Catholics in every area of our diocese,” Sister Rita said. “Shifting demographics around population growth and characteristics also are part of the deanery plan formulation. We want to provide solutions that will serve the diocese into coming decades.”

Having worked through the summer, the deanery planning groups will present their plans to the deanery parishes this fall. Parishes will have meetings to review the plans and provide comment. Sister Rita said comments will be collected in a uniform way, then studied by the deanery planning groups as they continue their work.

Once the deanery plans are in final form, they will be given to the Living Stones diocesan coordinating committee for creation of the diocesan plan. The current timeline calls for finalized deanery plans by late winter 2010, Sister Rita said.


Published in The Montana Catholic Online, Volume 26, No. 8, August 20, 2010.