Cardinal Justin Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia, recently accepted recommendations to merge two parishes in Philadelphia into two adjacent parishes. Immaculate Conception Parish merged into Saint Michael Parish and Saint Casimir Parish merged into Saint Andrew Parish In his October 2010 Pastoral Letter, "Called to Conversion and Holiness," Cardinal Rigali stated, "We must try to ensure that each parish possesses what is necessary for it to promote effectively the mission of Christ. To do so requires that we examine the demographics of our parishes in light of the number of priests available to serve our communities, in light of the migration of our people, and in light of our financial resources to maintain and support our parishes."

Immaculate Conception Parish (Front and Allen Streets, Philadelphia, PA)
Effective July 1, 2011, Immaculate Conception Parish merged into Saint Michael Parish, located at 2nd and Jefferson Streets. Immaculate Conception and Saint Michael Parishes had already been "twinned," sharing the same pastor since 2000. The number of registered parishioners at Immaculate Conception declined from 429 in 2000 to 196 in 2010, a 54% decrease. During that same period, the number of registered parishioners at Saint Michael grew from 400 to 800, a 100% increase.

The Immaculate Conception church building will remain open and be used as a worship site for Saint Michael Parish. Traditional devotions previously celebrated there will be continued.

Saint Casimir Parish (324 Wharton Street, Philadelphia, PA)
Effective July 1, 2011, Saint Casimir Parish merged into Saint Andrew Parish, located at 19th and Wallace Streets. Saint Casimir and Saint Andrew Parishes, which serve the spiritual needs of Lithuanian-speaking Catholics in the Archdiocese, had already been "twinned," sharing the same pastor since 1998. The number of registered parishioners at Saint Casimir declined from 195 in 2000 to 182 in 2010, a 7% decrease. During that same period, the number of registered parishioners at Saint Andrew grew from 479 to 761, a 59% increase.

The Saint Casimir church building will remain open and be used as a worship site for Saint Andrew Parish. Traditional devotions previously celebrated there in both English and Lithuanian will be continued.

Contact
Donna Farrell
Director of Communications
215-587-3747