SEATTLE – Three parishes in Tacoma will merge to become the new St. John XXIII Parish, effective July 1, 2022.
Father Tuan Nguyen, the current pastor of St. Ann Parish and St. John of the Woods Mission, will serve as pastor for the new parish. St. John of the Woods will remain a mission of the new parish.
“Together as one new community, St. John XXIII Parish has a strong foundation to meet the pastoral needs of its people, to increase outreach efforts, to joyfully share the Gospel of the Lord with robust evangelization efforts and to help bring Christ to the people of Tacoma,” Archbishop Paul D. Etienne said in a May 9 news release.
“The new parish also has an excellent Catholic school, which will be foundational for the parish community,” the archbishop said.
As an interim step in the merger, Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Parish was merged with St. Ann Parish last year after Holy Rosary ceased ministry. Now, St. Rita of Cascia Parish and Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish, along with its Visitation STEM Academy, will merge with St. Ann’s. The boundaries of the new parish will encompass those of the merged parishes. The school will change its name and eventually move when the St. John XXIII Parish campus is ready.
“Many people from each parish community have joined together to build this new community, and for that I am very grateful,” Father Nguyen said. “I wish to welcome everyone to St. John XXIII Parish. I pray that we may be a vibrant and joyful Catholic community that serves the people of Tacoma and helps them know the love of our Lord, Jesus Christ.”
According to decrees signed May 6 by Archbishop Etienne, Visitation and St. Rita of Cascia parishes have seen a decrease in Mass attendance over the past two decades and there has been a general downward trend in reception of the sacraments. “A lack of catechetical formation at the parish points to the need to revitalize a sense of missionary discipleship to ensure a robust community into the future,” and merging with St. Ann “would create a stronger community of the faithful for worship, ministry, and outreach,” decrees for the two parishes state.
In addition:
Visitation is facing a difficult financial situation, with parish income in decline, while multiple building renovations are on hold due to lack of funding, including earthquake-preparedness updates. The school is a vital ministry of the parish, but the building needs a new roof, which the parish can’t afford.
St. Rita of Cascia has seen parish income decline by 30% since 2015, and current finances are not enough to support additional staff or fund vital ministries.
St. Ann has seen a “considerable and consistent” increase in Mass attendance over the past two decades and “the consistency in sacramental life and demonstrable growth in religious education programs at the parish point to a commitment to missionary discipleship and a dedication to community development into the future,” its decree states. Merging with the nearby parishes of Visitation St. Rita of Cascia would create “a stronger community of the faithful for worship, ministry, and outreach in the city,” as well as provide resources for development of the parish school, with the possibility of a new campus at the current St. Ann Parish site. In addition, parish income matches expenses, and the parish has cash reserves that would cover two years of parish expenses.
The decision to merge the parishes came after a multiyear consultative planning process in the Pierce Deanery. The planning became urgent in 2019 when a piece of the ceiling in Holy Rosary Church fell into the choir loft. The estimated cost to repair the church exceeded $18 million, and with finances and engaged parishioners dwindling, the church building was closed and parish ministry ceased.
“Instead of focusing on the pressing issues of one single parish, I asked parishes in this deanery to work together to assess the current reality at each individual parish and collectively, and then recommend a path forward,” Archbishop Etienne said.
The archdiocesan strategic planning team worked closely with the pastors, parish councils and the archdiocesan Presbyteral Council in sharing trend data and research reports. After consultation, prayer and discernment, the parish leadership and strategic planning committee recommended the parish merger. The five faith communities involved have been working for more than a year to determine how their new parish will handle key areas of parish life like liturgy, faith formation, evangelization, community outreach, communication and finances.
Archbishop Etienne expressed gratitude to all those involved in the process, from parish leaders to volunteers. “It is through their dedication, the grace of the Holy Spirit and the love of our Lord that we can build a vibrant and engaged Catholic community in Tacoma,” he said.
The merger of the Tacoma parishes is part of strategic planning efforts to help ensure the archdiocese has vibrant parish communities that are effectively achieving the Church’s mission. On May 2, the archdiocese announced the merger of two parishes in Everett and strategic planning efforts are under way at some parishes Seattle.
Read Archbishop Etienne’s decrees:
St. Rita of Cascia Parish decree
Read Archbishop Etienne’s letters to the parishes: