In a letter read at all the Masses at the two churches that make up St. John XXIII Parish in Tamaqua this weekend, it was announced that a request of the pastor, Father John Frink and the parish pastoral council and finance committee to go from two churches to one had been approved by Diocese of Allentown Bishop Alfred A. Schlert.
St. John XXIII was formed in 2014 by the merger of St. Jerome Church and SS. Peter and Paul Church. Services have been held in both churches since that time. Effective Pentecost Sunday, May 20, 2018, all services will be held at the former SS. Peter and Paul Church, which will become the seat of St. John XXIII Parish. The former St. Jerome Church building will close.
For more than a year, Father Frink and the parish councils have been discussing a vision for the future of the parish and the strain that maintaining two worship sites has placed on the financial condition of the parish. Engineering reports concluded that the former Saint Jerome Church needs extensive repairs and a feasibility study concluded the parish could not raise nearly enough funds to pay for those repairs.
Even with modest renovations to enable the former SS. Peter and Paul Church to accommodate a combined congregation; this plan would significantly decrease the operating costs for the parish and thus strengthen St. John XIII Parish and its ability to provide spiritual care for the faithful in Tamaqua and surrounding areas.
The plan, proposed by Father Frink in his role as pastor, and endorsed by the Parish Pastoral Council and the Parish Finance Committee was recommended by the Diocesan Council of Priests and approved by Bishop Schlert this week.
In his letter to the St. John XXIII parishioners, Bishop Schlert acknowledged, “The closing of the building that had been St. Jerome’s Church, which has been a part of the Catholic life of Tamaqua and the surrounding areas for many years, is a sad event.” He closed his letter by writing, “I join my own prayers with yours that Our Lord Jesus Christ will watch over your parish and her faithful parishioners as you embark on this next step in your parish life.”
