• Church consolidation plan might close Sacred Heart, Holy Family
    Church consolidation plan might close Sacred Heart, Holy Family
    January 26, 2018
    Six months after Bishop Thomas Tobin, in a cutback of priestly personnel, appointed him to run three city parishes, the Rev. Daniel J. Sweet has begun floating a plan to put them under one roof and close down the oldest churches in the group, Sacred Heart and Holy Family.
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  • Diocese Announces St. Jean Baptiste
    Diocese Announces St. Jean Baptiste "Mission" Church Building to close
    October 16, 2017
    The final Mass is scheduled for December 31, 2017.
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  • Pastoral Planning providing guidance as parishes chart future in uncertain times
    August 1, 2017
    In a letter to pastors four years ago, Bishop Thomas J. Tobin outlined the beginning of the effort to deal proactively with a challenge looming on the horizon...
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  • Diocese announces Providence Church to Close Permanently
    Diocese announces Providence Church to Close Permanently
    June 7, 2017
    Due to concern for the deteriorating condition of the church building and a steady decline in Mass attendance and sacramental practice, Rev. Edward Sousa, parish administrator of St. Casimir’s in Providence, has recommended that St. Casimir Parish be closed permanently.
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  • Diocese announces Warwick Church to Close Indefinitely
    Diocese announces Warwick Church to Close Indefinitely
    March 6, 2017
    “The closing of a church is always a moment of sadness, but also an opportunity for renewed prayer and reflection,” said Bishop Tobin.
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  • The transitioning church
    The transitioning church
    February 16, 2017
    It’s not the norm when the Diocese of Providence calls a “town hall meeting.” Town hall meetings are commonly events where people air their concerns and ideas before elected officials. But a town hall meeting is the forum Bishop Thomas Tobin has selected to address the change the Catholic Church is experiencing.
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  • Laity input crucial in pastoral planning
    Laity input crucial in pastoral planning
    February 16, 2017
    Hundreds gather in Warwick to learn how to become involved in planning the future of the local church
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  • Down sizing
    Down sizing
    February 14, 2017
    More than 150 communicants from Warwick’s 10 Catholic parishes squeezed into Hendricken’s Founders Hall Wednesday night to consider a future that bodes fewer parishioners, less funds and a lack of priests.
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  • Pastoral Planning Committee looking at challenging times ahead
    Pastoral Planning Committee looking at challenging times ahead
    January 26, 2017
    After analyzing downward trends in worship and sacramental practice, and expressing concerns about the future viability of the traditional parish structure as the number of priests reaching retirement age greatly eclipses the number entering the clergy, Bishop Thomas J. Tobin has tasked a group of priests and laity with planning for the future of the Church in the diocese.
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  • Large crowd gathers to learn about role of faithful in future of Church
    Large crowd gathers to learn about role of faithful in future of Church
    February 26, 2015
    Nearly 300 people braved icy roads and temperatures in the single digits to learn more about the statistics that are governing the direction their diocese is headed and what their role in the continued celebration of their faith will be.
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  • Preparing for the coming changes in the diocesan Church
    Preparing for the coming changes in the diocesan Church
    February 19, 2015
    To address ways the Church will need to adapt in the coming years to a decline in the men pursuing religious vocations coupled with a marked increase in the number of priests reaching retirement age, while facing a downturn in the number of faithful filling the pews each week, the diocese has commissioned a national speaker to address ways parishes will need to collaborate to ensure their future survival.
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