Archdiocese Planning Process

A Catholic Schools Commission named by Archbishop John Nien­stedt has been charged with bringing a set of recommendations to him by June to help ensure the strength and sustainability of Cath­olic elementary schools through­out the archdiocese.

Bernard, 86, and Adeline, 88, Sobczak can look out the window of their home near New Prague and see the church of St. Benedict across the street. For more than four decades, they have walked out their front door and about 100 yards to the church doors for Sunday Mass. Jan. 16, they did it for the last time.

Three Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis — St. Joseph in Red Wing, St. Mathias in Hampton and San Miguel Middle School in Minneapolis — will close at the end of the current school year because they lack long-term sustainability.

Father Kevin Clinton, pastor of St. Wenceslaus in New Prague, said he is feeling a bit less pressure since Archbishop John Nienstedt modified the merger plan among six parishes in the area.

Archbishop John Nienstedt announced Nov. 19 that he is modifying two of the 14 original parish mergers announced Oct. 16 and 17 by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

In the past six years, Pope John Paul II Catholic School in northeast Minneapolis has made a tremendous turn-around. It faced near-closure in 2004, but today it runs its budget in the black (thanks, in part, to a pastor with a business degree), serves as a model for multi-age classrooms and has made a commitment to strong Catholic identity initiatives, for which it earned a national award in April.

Twelve of the 14 mergers outlined in the archdiocesan strategic plan have been appealed by parishioners or parish representatives, said Jennifer Haselberger, chancellor for canonical affairs. The two mergers that are not being appealed are St. Vincent de Paul merging with the Cathedral of St. Paul and St. Augustine merging with Holy Trinity, all in St. Paul.

Parishioners at churches involved in 10 of the 14 mergers announced earlier this month are appealing the decision affecting them through a formal process provided by Archbishop John Nienstedt, according to the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.