Click on the image above to be taken to the Archdiocese of St. Louis All Things New page.

As part of the ongoing strategic process for All Things New, the Archdiocese will be hosting listening sessions for each parish in October and November 2022.

Sacred Heart's scheduled Listening Sessions are on October 18 and October 20, both from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. (Register HERE)

Each listening session will be facilitated by volunteer parishioners from a different parish. These trained facilitators will share pre-recorded messages from Archbishop Rozanski and Fr. Chris Martin, Vicar for Strategic Planning, with an overview of All Things New, a planning area overview, multiple DRAFT model options to consider for the respective planning area and facilitate large group feedback. If your parish has more than one Listening Session, the information presented at both is the same.

The goals of the listening sessions are to engage as many parishioners as possible in understanding the current state of our parishes and diocese and to solicit feedback from as many parishioners as possible about the DRAFT model options for their planning area.

After the final listening session in each planning area, the Archdiocese of St. Louis will make public the content presented at all the parish’s Listening Sessions in that planning area and will offer an additional opportunity for parishioners to provide open-ended feedback through an online survey. The survey will remain open until December 31, 2022. Parishioner feedback on the models is critical as it will be used to help shape the future of the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

In order for parishioners to be fully prepared with accurate information before their parish listening session(s), we are providing parishioners with a supplementary resource, their Parish Workbook. The Parish Workbooks were designed to give parishioners relevant demographic, ministerial, and financial data about the Archdiocese of St. Louis, their local planning area, and their specific parish. The data contained in the Parish Workbook was created by the Pastoral Planning Committee and validated by pastors and Key Parish Leaders over the past several months. The workbooks incorporate data gathered over the past twenty years from parishes across the Archdiocese of St. Louis and highlight historical trends which inform future projections for parish life.

Parishioners are encouraged to review the Parish Workbooks (click HERE to see SHVP's workbook) prior to attending their listening sessions so they can familiarize themselves with the important data that has led to the DRAFT models which will be presented.

We all know that the Church of today is not the same that it was 50, 100, or 150+ years ago, and yet we are still functioning in many ways out of the same mode of evangelization. We have inherited a great treasure of Catholic institutions from previous generations, but as the Catholic population and society have shifted over the past several decades, they are no longer as effective or sustainable as they once were.

We are closer now to 2050 than to 1950. We need to ask ourselves what our parishes, ministries, and institutions need to look like in order to effectively share the faith in a way that is suitable and sustainable for our children and generations to come.

All Things New is evaluating the effectiveness of the Church in St. Louis in proclaiming the Gospel and identifying opportunities for improvement and renewal within all parishes, schools, and curia offices and agencies.

Why is the Archdiocese of St. Louis making these changes now?  

• Our Catholic population continues to decline and age.
• Our priests are aging and as a result, their number is declining.
• Mass attendance and sacramental participation continue to decline.
• Fewer children attend Catholic Schools and Religious Education (PSR).
• Our resources are finite and need to be realigned.

• Recommendations concerning buildings to be used by the merged parish
• The number of priests initially assigned
• Suggested evangelization and ministry strategies

What is the timeline for this? 
While decisions will be made in spring 2023, implementation will not begin until fall 2023 and will extend through 2026. Implementation will occur in a phased approach over time to allow for orderly planning and transition at the local level, led by your pastor and supported by the Archdiocese.

What can we as local Catholics do now?
You are encouraged to attend your parish’s listening sessions with open hearts and minds. Continue to attend Mass, participate in the Sacraments and pray for the power of the Holy Spirit to pour out upon the Church of St. Louis, to grant us the gift of true discernment, so we may do His will in all things.
 

Sacred Heart Key Findings from the Disciple Maker Index Survey

 
Top Three Strengths of Sacred Heart by Highest Percentage Strongly Agree
· Belief: Scripture is word of God
· Belief: Eucharist is body/blood of Christ
· Recommend Parish
 
Top Three Opportunities for Sacred Heart by Lowest Percentage Strongly Agree
· Conversation: Sharing personal story
· Conversation: Sharing story of Jesus
· Conversation: Confidence in teachings
 

The Archdiocese of St. Louis and All Things New
The Archdiocese of St. Louis is made up of 178 parishes encompassing the City of St. Louis and 10 surrounding counties – a large and diverse territory:  urban, suburban, and rural.
Thirty-five percent of our diocesan priests (74 priests) serving in parishes are 65 years of age or older.  By 2026, we will have fewer diocesan priests to serve in parishes than the number of parishes.
Prior to the COVID- 19 pandemic, Mass attendance was declining between 0.5% to 1% per year. The long-term implications of COVID are unknown, but the rebound in Mass attendance from 2020 to 2021 still leaves us 25% below pre-COVID levels. In 2019, only 33% of our pews were occupied during the typical weekend Mass. By 2021, only 25% of our pews were occupied during the typical weekend Mass.
As many as 5,000 Catholics are “leaving” the Church – OR –  not re-engaging in the Church after high school or college.
In the last decade, the percentage of the adult population claiming no religious affiliation (the “Nones”) grew from 17% to 26%.  In the last decade, the percentage of the millennial population claiming no religious affiliation grew from 27% to 40%.
Our Planning Area for All Things New
Our Planning Area is mostly in St. Louis County, with the exception of the western border in Franklin County and the southern border in Jefferson County. The geography of this area is defined by three Interstates (64, 44, and 270, Highways 109 and 141, and the Missouri River to the northwest and Jefferson County to the south.
There are 11 territorial parishes, one personal parish, and nine parish elementary schools in the planning area. Currently, there are 25 diocesan and six order priests assigned to this group.
Churches on the eastern side of this planning area have parishes within five miles of each other in the northeast and southeast sections. Ascension, St. Clare, and Holy Infant are within 3-4 miles also within short drives to nearby churches to the east. Three churches in the western part of the planning area are 7-8 miles apart but linked by major roadways.
The total population in the planning area in the 2020 census was 255,008 which was up 3% from 2010. The population is aging. The percentage of the population 55 or older has risen from 20% in 2020 to 34% in 2021. Despite the heavily Catholic population and the stable general population, Mass
attendance has declined 44% from 2014 and is now at 12,000 on an average weekend. Given the number of masses, attendance fills the churches in this planning area at 28% of capacity. The nine elementary schools in this
planning area have 2,348 children enrolled in Catholic elementary schools, down 15% from 5 years ago. Three schools have fewer than 200 students.  There are 2,196 students enrolled in PSR in 2021, down 35% from five years earlier.
 
More about Sacred Heart and results from the Disciple Maker Index survey to come!