A bridge over the Mississippi River near St. Louis / Checubus / ShutterstockSt. Louis, Mo., Apr 9, 2023 / 12:00 pm (CNA).A group of more than 3,000 Catholics in the Archdiocese of St. Louis sent a letter to Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski last week asking him to halt plans to merge numerous parishes in the coming years.Robert Onder, a former Missouri state senator and founding member of St. Gianna Parish in Wentzville, Missouri, is acting as procurator, or representative under canon law, for the 3,100 Catholics who signed a mandate calling for the planning process to stop. There are approximately 484,000 Catholics in the archdiocese. "After prayerful study of the past and current plan, we do not see how the pastoral plan will improve the pastoral care of the faithful, encourage vocations, increase the evangelizing mission of the Church, revitalize parishes or bring advantage to the Church," the March 27 letter signed by Onder reads. In his letter, sent on ...