On Wednesday Cleveland Bishop Richard Lennon will meet with area pastors and their representatives from diocesan churches affected by the recent announcement of closures and mergers. The Bishop has also invited parish administrators, parish life coordinators, and two lay leaders from each parish that the parishes have identified as crucial to leading a smooth and effective transition process.

In an eight-county area, the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland currently has 224 parishes. On March 15, Lennon announced that a total of 29 churches in Cuyahoga, Lorain, and Summit County will close by the end of June 2010. An additional 41 churches will be merged with neighboring parishes at 18 existing churches.

Attendance at the meeting today is mandatory for the parishes, even if they are planning to appeal their closure or merger. It will begin at 1pm and end around 3pm.

Today's meeting will cover the steps for closing and merging parishes, as well as providing resources to help support the transition. Those who attend will be given a Consolidation Manual and a booklet of Prayer and Care Resources for Parishes in Transition.

A Welcoming Manual will be made available in April for all parishes in the dioceses to help in providing pastoral care for each parishioner affected by the closings and consolidations.

Prior to coming to Cleveland, Lennon served as the vicar general of the Archdiocese of Boston, where he oversaw the reconfiguration process there. This ultimately led to the closure of about 18 percent of the parishes in the Boston metropolitan area. Sit-ins have been going on round-the-clock for more than four years now at five Roman Catholic churches closed by the Boston Archdiocese. Will Clevelanders be as passionate about keeping their churches open?

Click here to view a PDF list of parishes closing and merging.