SEATTLE — A new “Current Reality Report“ released June 12 by the Archdiocese of Seattle “clearly outline(s) the urgent need for change in how we are approaching parish life today,” said Father Gary Lazzeroni, the archdiocese’s vicar general.

“Most people don’t realize we’ll only have around 60 pastors in the next 15 years — or that many parishes are operating with a deficit,” said Father Lazzeroni, co-leader of Partners in the Gospel, the archdiocese’s strategic pastoral planning process.

The archdiocese currently has 136 parishes and a total of 174 worship sites, Father Lazzeroni notes in a video presentation about the report.

Early in 2024, “parish families” consisting of two or more parishes will be announced; over the following three years, members of each parish family will discern how they will become one canonical parish. Each parish family will be assigned one pastor and one or more parochial vicars to assist him.

The Current Reality Report was prepared by PartnersEdge consultants as part of the Partners in the Gospel process. The report provides an overview of parish annual report information, archdiocesan trend data and demographic forecasts across the archdiocese, which covers 24,000 square miles in Western Washington.

Key areas highlighted in the report include:

  • Mass counts and registration
  • Sacramental and formation trends
  • Parish finances
  • Priest and pastor projections
  • Catholic school trends
  • Demographic changes and forecasts

“Most people’s experience with the Catholic Church is through their own local parish community, and this report helps demonstrate how we are truly part of a larger Catholic family,” said Caitlin Moulding, the archdiocese’s chief operations officer and co-leader of Partners in the Gospel.

Caitlin Moulding, the archdiocese’s chief operations officer and co-leader of Partners in the Gospel, talks about the current reality in the archdiocese in this Partners in the Gospel video. (Courtesy Archdiocese of Seattle)

“We must balance our resources — people, finances, buildings — so that we can effectively reenvision how we show up as the living Body of Christ in today’s world,” Moulding added.

The hope, Father Lazzeroni said, is that the report will help people “better understand why we’ve embarked on this journey of change.”

“People will see the sharp decline in parish engagement over the past few decades, coupled with the lack of resources, which requires us to rethink how we are carrying out the mission of the Church today,” he said.

The Current Reality Report and video presention were released to parishes the weekend of June 10-11. The report, videos and other Partners materials are available in English, Spanish and Vietnamese on the archdiocesean website, www.archseattle.org/partners.

For a “by the numbers” look at the archdiocese from the June/July issue of Northwest Catholic, click here.