Bishop Edward J. Weisenburger of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson is contemplating merging two parishes to help make one financially solvent and to allow the other to move into a bigger church.
Weisenburger released letters explaining his reasoning β describing it as a βwin-winβ situation β to parishioners of St. Frances Cabrini on Tucsonβs north side and Our Lady of La Vang in midtown. The letters were to be posted on the parishesβ websites.
Weisenburger
The bishop said he expects to make a decision, possibly within several months, and declined an interview.
Under the proposed plan, the growing Our Lady of La Vang parish would move from 800 S. Tucson Blvd. to St. Frances Cabrini at 3201 E. Presidio Road.
In a May 20 letter to La Vang parishioners, the bishop says he met with St. Frances Cabrini parish leadership and that the βweekend Mass attendance has been declining steadily, and they have not been able to pay their bills without going into savings, which are quickly being depleted. The parish has a rich and vibrant history, but they find themselves with large parishes around them and declining membership.β
βI do not want to close the parish for many reasons but primarily because many of the remaining parishioners have been there for decades,β says the bishop. βI also am motivated to maintain the parish, as the facility is beautiful and in good shape. β¦ With all this in mind, I recalled that your parish has long been considering the purchase of a new site or possibly building a new church and parish center.β
Weisenburger goes on to say he is βnow considering transferring the Parish of Our Lady of La Vang to the St. Frances Cabrini location. I must stress, however, that no final decisions have been made, and I continue to be in discussion with leadership for both parishes.β
Rev. Jens-Peter βJayβ Jensen Jr., pastor at St. Frances Cabrini, is retiring effective June 30. The bishop, who said he does βnot wish to rush this process of discernment,β is appointing Rev. Balaswamy βBalaβ Kommathoti as parish administrator at St. Frances Cabrini while he will continue residing at Ss. Peter and Paul parish. Kommathoti will be responsible for pastoral care, masses and administrative issues starting July 1.
In a May 18 letter to St. Frances Cabrini parishioners, Weisenburger says if Our Lady of La Vang was to βtransfer to the St. Frances Cabrini location β with their pastor, Corporate Board, and parish councils in full leadership β an English Mass could be arranged weekly for the remaining long-time English-speaking parishioners of St. Frances Cabrini.β
Our Lady of La Vang serves predominantly Vietnamese-Americans. In the 1970s and into the 1980s, the diocese aided Vietnamese refugees through its resettlement programs. The churchβs namesake was an apparition of the Blessed Mother in 1798 when Catholicism was restricted and Catholics were persecuted in Vietnam.
A local Catholic Vietnamese community formed about 1978 and the parish was founded roughly two decades ago. The Rev. Francis Dien Tran is pastor, and Our Lady of La Vang has about 200 registered families, according to a member of the churchβs pastoral committee.
Our Lady of La Vang pastoral committee will work to make sure parishioners understand the proposal within the next several weeks before a decision is made by parishioners on whether to accept the plan. βWe pray for Godβs guidance for the best outcome in making this very important decision,β said Angeline Vu, a member of the committee.
St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church, 3201 E. Presidio Road.
St. Frances Cabrini Church, which was built in 1959, now has mostly older-aged white parishioners. It originally served as a chapel with educational buildings for Ss. Peter and Paul. It was vibrant for decades and underwent a remodeling in 1992.
The patron saint of the parish was born in 1850 in Italy and was the founder of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In 1889, she traveled to New York and worked to help thousands of Italian immigrants by establishing schools and orphanages, states the Cabrini University website. She died in Chicago in 1917 and was canonized a saint in 1946 by Pope Pius XII for her holiness and service to mankind.
βI think all parishioners have been apprehensive about what might happen to the parish,β said St. Frances Cabrini parishioner Ed Farrell, 71, a retired operating engineer. βWe have not been in a good financial position for several years,β said Farrell.
A 2019-20 financial report in a parish bulletin stated that the average amount needed weekly in collections is $8,355, and a total Sunday collection was $4,331.
Farrell said he is sure the pandemic caused collections to fall even further. The parish website says there are 800 households registered in the parish, but it doesnβt say how many are active parishioners.
βThe Vietnamese church is certainly welcomed,β Farrell said of Our Lady of La Vang. βTheir presence would be an improvement, but no one knows what will happen.β He said a growing Catholic church, such as Our Lady of La Vang, is rare and encouraging in this day and age.
Because of the pandemic, parishioners were not able to gather to discuss the future of the parish. It was left to the parish council, said Farrell.
βWe are all aware of our precarious financial position. We are now in a period of disappointment and trepidation,β he said.
Judy Tully, a parishioner at St. Frances Cabrini for 45 years, said at first she was caught βoff guard, but the more I thought about (the bishopβs proposal), I like it.β
βI am very happy it will remain a Roman Catholic parish with young families coming in (from Our Lady of La Vang),β said Tully, 73, a retired dental hygienist.
She said if the proposed plan is approved, it would be good for St. Frances Cabrini because the parish is made up of βtoo many old people, and we canβt keep it afloat anymore. There are less and less young families. Neighborhoods change and families change.β
She said she and her husband may start attending St. Cyril of Alexandria Church, 4725 E. Pima St., because of their ties there.
βMy husband was baptized there. We were married there. We have roots there, and we know more people there,β said Tully.
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