BAYONNE -- Five Catholic parishes in the Peninsula City will be consolidated next year into two with new names following a years-long trend of declining congregation numbers, according to the Archdiocese of Newark.
On Jan. 1, Our Lady of the Assumption, St. Michael & St. Joseph and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel will merge to become St. John Paul II, while St. Mary Star of the Sea and St. Andrew will merge to become Blessed Miriam Teresa Demjanovich.
Archdiocese spokesman Jim Goodness told The Jersey Journal that the change, which church leaders decided on last week and announced to parishioners over the weekend, is being implemented because the city's demographics have changed and there are fewer Catholics in the area than there used to be.
"Over time, and through ... a lot of discussion with people in the parishes, a plan emerged that there would be several consolidations of some of the parishes to have fewer parishes with more people to help sustain those parishes in the future," Goodness said.
In a letter written to the Catholic churches in Bayonne, Archbishop of Newark the Rev. John J. Myers said the number of churches in the city has remained the same for 70 years despite changes in the area's demographic make-up.
"We have scarce resources and fewer personnel to serve this changing scene," he said.
Beginning next year, St. John Paul II will hold its services at the current site of Mt. Carmel, 39 E. 22nd St., and the buildings that currently house Our Lady of the Assumption and St. Michael & St. Joseph will close, Goodness said.
It's not clear at this point what will happen to those two buildings, he said.
As for the other consolidation, Blessed Miriam Teresa Demjanovich will hold its services at the current sites of St. Mary Star of the Sea and St. Andrew, and both churches' buildings will continue to be used by the new church, Goodness said. The Spanish ministry office that's currently part of Our Lady of the Assumption will be transferred to Blessed Miriam, he added.
The other two Catholic parishes in Bayonne -- St. Vincent de Paul and St. Henry -- will stay open and provide the same services to residents, Goodness said. St. Vincent will gain a Spanish ministry office in addition to the services it currently provides.
Some parishioners of Our Lady of the Assumption and St. Michael & St. Joseph reacted with disappointment to the news that their churches' buildings will close.
"The last several months there have been ongoing meetings about the future of churches in Bayonne, but I was surprised at the letter (announcing the planned merger) at Sunday Mass," said Nicholas Chiaravalloti, a lifelong parishioner at Assumption.
Chiaravalloti, who is also running for an Assembly seat in the 31st District, said people are not giving up on the church, noting that "people are trying to figure out what the options are."
On a Facebook page named "Save Our Lady of the Assumption R.C. Church - Bayonne, NJ," people posted to say their parents were married there or their children were baptized there and that the church shouldn't be closed.
Rose Burns, a lifelong Bayonne resident and parishioner at St. Michael & St. Joseph, told The Jersey Journal as she was leaving the church today that she is disappointed that the church she's gone to for more than 20 years is closing.
"I've been in the parish since I was a kid,'' she said. "I liked the pastor. I liked the people. It's a community.''
Jonathan Lin may be reached at jlin@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @jlin_jj. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.