Necessary changes are underway for two Trenton faith communities.
With the signing of a decree on June 9, Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., officially declared that Sacred Heart Parish and Divine Mercy Parish will cease to be individual parishes and be merged to a new parish entity on July 1, 2017.
In the decree, the Bishop outlined both the reasoning behind the merger and the details that will be in place for the newly formed parish community once the merger becomes effective. Details that are defined include the name of the community, which will remain Sacred Heart; the geographical boundaries; the use of worship sites; the disposition of goods and debt currently belonging to the two separate parishes, and the retention of sacramental records from the former Divine Mercy Parish.
The decree marks the first parish change resulting from the Diocese of Trenton’s pastoral planning initiative, Faith in Our Future, which is an eight-step pastoral planning process that was commissioned by Bishop O’Connell in 2015 and designed to strengthen and enliven the parishes of the Diocese. Over many months, parishes met individually for self-study and as Cohorts to present to the Diocesan Planning Commission suggested ministry models and rationale. Recommendations for parish restructuring and development were presented to the Bishop by the Planning Commission in November 2016. After consultation with several diocesan bodies and the presbyterate, Bishop O’Connell announced his decisions in January 2017.
The Bishop’s decisions are expected to be implemented over the next three years during which parishes will work toward addressing the Bishop’s call for: 1) Ongoing collaboration among all of the parishes of the Diocese, particularly within the 25 Cohorts into which they are grouped; 2) Seven linkages – 15 parishes will share their pastor with at least one other parish with the possibility of additional linkages to come in the future, and 3) Nine mergers, encompassing 17 parishes will be consolidated into eight new parishes, the first being the Sacred Heart Parish merger with Divine Mercy Parish. Remaining mergers will take place in subsequent years.
While the merger between Sacred Heart and Divine Mercy Parishes marks the first reconfiguration under the Faith In Our Future Initiative, the experience of undergoing parish studies and facing potential mergers is not new to either parish. Both had been part of the 2005 Trenton Ward Study, which was conducted among 21 parishes in the Greater Trenton area. Though the now 203-year-old Sacred Heart Parish remained a self-standing parish, Divine Mercy was created as a new parish resulting from the merger of three parishes – Holy Cross, founded in 1891, St. Stanislaus, founded in 1890, and SS. Peter and Paul, founded in 1899. Under its new configuration, the three churches continued to be utilized for Masses and other liturgical celebrations for about a year until SS. Peter and Paul Church was closed in 2006. Currently, Divine Mercy Parish holds all of its functions in just Holy Cross Church.
The first experience that Sacred Heart and Divine Mercy Parishes had in coming together was in 2013, when Father Dennis Apoldite, who had been pastor of Sacred Heart Parish, was appointed by Bishop O’Connell to also serve as pastor of Divine Mercy Parish. Even though the parishes shared a pastor, the parishes remained as independent entities and will continue to do so until July 1, when the new parish configuration takes effect.