Closing of the Catholic Church in Baltimore: Meeting of the Archdiocese on April 25

People will get their first chance Thursday evening to weigh in on a proposal to close dozens of Catholic churches in Baltimore and some nearby communities in Baltimore County.

Representatives from the Archdiocese of Baltimore will share details of the proposal — which calls for reducing the number of parishes from 61 to 21 — at a meeting at Archbishop Curley High School in Northeast Baltimore at 6:30 p.m. The public may then comment. People can also log in to the meeting virtually.

The number of church buildings used for worship would be reduced from 59 to 26 under the proposal.

The session will include “prayer, reflection, sharing and listening,” Christian Kendzierski, a spokesman for the archdiocese, said in an email. “Parishes will have representatives who can provide feedback from a collective parish perspective.”

Plans to close and consolidate churches sparked outrage and consternation among many Catholics, including those who donated their time and money to maintain facilities and establish programs in their home churches.

The proposal calls for the consolidation of many disparate parishes; For example, St. Vincent’s, a liberal and LGBTQ-friendly parish on the edge of downtown, would be merged with St. Leo’s, a distinctly Italian-American parish in Little Italy, and St. Patrick’s, a more traditional parish in Highlandtown.

The proposal also calls for the closure of many historic parishes, such as St. Ann’s in East Baltimore, which recently celebrated its 150th anniversary. Devoted parishioner Ralph Moore raised $30,000 in cents to help cover the cost of a new roof for the church, which has a historically black congregation.

The archdiocese says the closures and consolidations are necessary.

In the mid-twentieth century, more than 250,000 people worshiped in Baltimore’s Catholic churches. Today, about 5,000 to 8,000 people attend Sunday Mass in the city, and many of them come from the suburbs

The archdiocese began holding meetings and gathering input from parishes about a year and a half ago, to create a plan called Seek the City to Come. The final plan will be announced in June.

Two additional listening sessions are planned for next week.

A gathering in Spanish will be held at Our Lady of Fatima Church in Southeast Baltimore on Monday at 7 p.m.

A final session is scheduled for 6:30 PM on Tuesday, April 30 at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Guilford.