Cristo Rey to close

Members of Cristo Rey Parish will join St. Patrick Parish, 1100 Erie St., this November, leaving their church at 801 College Ave. behind, a leader at St. Patrick confirmed.

Although the merger, which began in earnest last fall, will mean many Cristo Rey members will be attending Mass in a new place, the change could have little effect on how most members worship. Both congregations are largely Hispanic and both are already served by the same priest, the Rev. Antony Thomas.

Thomas was unavailable for comment, but Don Mueller, a member of St. Patrick asked by Thomas to assist with the merger, said the decision is the result of many years of collaborations between the two parishes, and amounts to a sort of reunion.

Cristo Rey used to be part of St. Patrick, but broke off 35 years ago primarily to help develop Hispanic leadership in the church.

Things have changed since then, however, Mueller said. In the late 1970s, St. Patrick’s congregation was only about 10 percent Hispanic. Today that number is closer to 80 percent.

With both parishes now largely similar in their demographics and culture, church leaders saw benefits to bringing the churches back together—both for the congregations as well as the larger community.

“The leadership from both churches . . . saw the advantages of having stronger programming and services if they were both combined,” Mueller said.

Merging would also help the parish’s finances. While both churches are currently solvent, “coming together will provide a stronger financial base,” Mueller said.

Both parishes petitioned the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, which is required for such a merger to occur, he added.

Although news of a potential consolidation first surfaced in February, the decision wasn’t officially approved by the Archdiocese until May.

That’s when Archbishop Jerome Listecki sent a letter to the churches, Mueller said.

In that letter, Listecki decreed that the parishes would merge under the name St. Patrick, and that the last Mass and the closing of Cristo Rey would occur on Nov. 23, 2014, the Feast Day of Christ the King.

There are many reasons that the decision was made to close Cristo Rey, not St. Patrick, Mueller said. A key one, however, is that Cristo Rey needs major updating. St. Patrick, on the other hand, was remodeled a few years ago, thanks to a donation.

Although current members of Cristo Rey are welcome to attend any church they want after Nov. 23, Mueller said he hopes they will join St. Patrick, adding that the plans are already in place to have at least four Masses at the church during the weekends – a minimum of two in Spanish, and two in English.

“The hope is there will be a much stronger presence to our faith here in Racine because of his merger, not only that there will be stronger education, but greater service to the community, especially those in need,” he said.

Reaction of several parishioners at the final Cristo Rey Parish festival on Saturday was one of sadness, but resignation.

“I am sad that the church (Cristo Rey) is leaving because we had our own customs and traditions,” said Nancy Maldonado, 61, an employee at Cree who is transferring to St. Lucy’s Parish on the south side. “I know at St. Lucy’s they are not going to have those, but it’s a Catholic church and I’m comfortable over there and I’m taking my family with me.”

There is a bit of fear of the uncertainty about the change, said Anita Vital, 43, center director for Acelero Learning. She is on the Cristo Rey Parish Council and Liturgy Committee and has helped at the Parish festival for more than 15 years.

“Are we going to be accepted over there (at St. Patrick’s), that’s what the community is saying,” said Vital. “How are we going to be treated? It’s going to be a little different, but God is everywhere.”

Cristo Rey and St. Patrick aren’t the first parishes in the city to merge.

In 1998, five Racine parishes—St. Casimir, Holy Name, St. Rose, St. Stanislaus and Holy Trinity—merged to form St. Richard of Chichester Parish.

Mark Kemmeter, director of the archdiocese’s Office for Planning and Councils, said mergers can help the diocese and its parishes maximize resources, so they can focus more on what’s important.

“The more we can focus on ministry, and the less on buildings, the stronger the church will be,” Kemmeter said.