The Diocese of Peoria announced Saturday it will merge 156 parishes into 75 parishes with 127 worship sites, and in the process, close a handful of churches in La Salle, Bureau, Putnam, Marshall and Livingston counties.
Peoria Diocese to reduce the number of parishes in the diocese by half catholicnewsagency.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from catholicnewsagency.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The Peoria Diocese covers 26 counties in Illinois. Out of a total population of 1.4 million, nearly 11% of that population is Catholic, the diocese says.
The priests at Epiphany, Holy Trinity/Historic St. Patrick and St. Mary will move under a Peoria Diocese reorganization, but no Twin City church will close.
Our Lady of Grace Catholic Academy (OLGCA) in East Moline will close at the end of the school year due to low enrollment, maintenance costs and other factors.