Archives for December 2021

December 5, 2021 by Peter Garcia

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

This past June 19 was the bicentennial anniversary of the founding of the Archdiocese ofCincinnati, marking an important milestone in the life of the local Catholic Church. We give thanks to our generous God for the many blessings He has bestowed on us over our first 200years and look forward with expectant faith to what is to come.

Today likewise marks an important milestone. I am pleased to announce the finalFamilies of Parishes, bringing to close the first major phase of Beacons of Light. Beginning at noon today, these Families of Parishes can be viewed online at www.BeaconsAOC.org. Thank you to the thousands of Catholics in the archdiocese whose thoughtful feedback has significantly shaped this phase of our pastoral planning. I am deeply grateful.

The enduring mission of the Catholic Church, our mission, entrusted to the apostles byJesus, is to proclaim the Good News of salvation and make disciples. We have a responsibility to make the best use of all the means which God has provided us to pursue this sacred mission. The purpose of Beacons of Light is to ensure that all our resources – human, physical and financial –are properly ordered to missionary discipleship. I am convinced that Beacons of Light, born of great hope, will enable us to form stronger parishes, centered on the Eucharist, that radiate the love of Christ and joy of the Gospel in a world that is frequently indifferent or even hostile.

We now move on to the next major phase of Beacons of Light, the implementation of the new Families of Parishes on July 1, 2022. This will involve a great deal of planning and preparation over the coming months. Please pray for me and all the priests and lay people of our archdiocese who will play significant roles in this effort. Please also know of my prayers for you.

Our life in Christ is always a response to God’s initiative. As we continue this challenging but exciting endeavor, may we stay attentive to all that the Lord is doing in our midst. God has abundantly blessed our first two centuries and will certainly bless the next. He has promised to never leave us. May God bless and keep all of us as we journey together toward the celebration of the birth of our Lord with certainty in our hearts that Christ remains with us always.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Most Reverend Dennis M. Schnurr

Archbishop of Cincinnati

December 5, 2021 by Chris Iacobucci

December 05, 2021

Second Sunday of Advent

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

This past June 19 was the bicentennial anniversary of the founding of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, marking an important milestone in the life of the local Catholic Church. We give thanks to our generous God for the many blessings He has bestowed on us over our first 200 years and look forward with expectant faith to what is to come.

Today likewise marks an important milestone. I am pleased to announce the final Families of Parishes, bringing to close the first major phase of Beacons of Light. Beginning at noon today, these Families of Parishes can be viewed online at www.BeaconsAOC.org. Thank you to the thousands of Catholics in the archdiocese whose thoughtful feedback has significantly shaped this phase of our pastoral planning. I am deeply grateful.

The enduring mission of the Catholic Church, our mission, entrusted to the apostles by Jesus, is to proclaim the Good News of salvation and make disciples. We have a responsibility to make the best use of all the means which God has provided us to pursue this sacred mission. The purpose of Beacons of Light is to ensure that all our resources – human, physical and financial – are properly ordered to missionary discipleship. I am convinced that Beacons of Light, born of great hope, will enable us to form stronger parishes, centered on the Eucharist, that radiate the love of Christ and joy of the Gospel in a world that is frequently indifferent or even hostile.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Most Reverend Dennis M. Schnurr

Archbishop of Cincinnati

December 2, 2021 by Jennifer Schack

Release Date: Dec. 2, 2021

Father Geoff Drew of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati was placed on administrative leave on July 23, 2019 as a result of a pattern of behaviors – such as boundary violations and texting a minor – in contradiction to the Decree on Child Protection. Subsequent to being placed on administrative leave, Father Drew was arrested and charged with nine counts of rape. These were new, previously unreported allegations dating back to the late 1980s, a decade before he entered the seminary to begin formation for the priesthood.

Information previously released about this matter can be found on the website of the archdiocese:

Fr. Geoff Drew Information

Given the guilty plea accepted today in court, the Archdiocese of Cincinnati will now seek the laicization of Father Geoff Drew with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Holy See.

“Father Geoff Drew will never again have a priestly assignment in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati or any other diocese,” said Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr.

The Archdiocese of Cincinnati remains committed to creating and maintaining safe environments, including enforcing the Decree on Child Protection without compromise. Please join us in continuing to pray for all victims of the horrific evil of abuse.

Jennifer Schack

Director of Media Relations

Archdiocese of Cincinnati

Office | 513.263.6618

Cell | 859.512.5626

[email protected]

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati is the 44^th largest Catholic diocese in the country, with more than 440,000 Catholics, and has the fifth largest Catholic school system in terms of enrollment with more than 40,000 students. The 19-county territory includes 208 parishes and 111 Catholic primary and secondary schools.

December 1, 2021 by Jennifer Schack

Release Date: December 1, 2021

Families of Parishes Final Configuration Announcement

The Families of Parishes configuration is finalized and will be announced to the public on Sunday, Dec. 5, 2021. Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr, of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, will promulgate the Families of Parishes at the 11 a.m. Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Peter in Chains on Sunday, Dec. 5, 2021. The Families of Parishes configuration is part of the archdiocesan-wide pastoral planning initiative Beacons of Light.

This announcement is the result of more than two years of work. The project has included data collection from all entities of the archdiocese, assistance from a consulting group with direction and data analysis, several rounds of modeling of Families of Parishes configurations, and an open comment period.

“I am convinced that Beacons of Light, born in great hope, will enable us to form strong parishes, centered on the Eucharist, that radiate the love of Christ and joy of the Gospel,” said Archbishop Schnurr.

In Oct. 2021, a draft Families of Parishes configuration was presented to the faithful of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati for their review and feedback. The open comment period elicited nearly 8,000 comments and has resulted in numerous changes to the configuration. Collectively the changes from the draft to the final parish groupings have resulted in a stronger arrangement of Families of Parishes, that will allow for optimal growth of the archdiocese in the decades to come.

The final Families of Parishes configuration that will be announced on Dec. 5 will includes the Families of Parishes map available at BeaconsAOC.org. The map will be available on the website at 12 p.m. following the Mass.

The next milestone in Beacons of Light will be the announcement of priest assignments in the spring of 2022. The implementation of Families of Parishes will not formally begin until July 1, 2022.

The announcement of the Families of Parishes configuration is the conclusion of the strategic planning phase of Beacons of Light. With a strategic plan finalized, the work going forward is in the hands of the faithful. The pastoral planning phase of Beacons of Light will include months of leadership training and orientation to Beacons of Light for all priests, deacons, lay staff and parish leaders. In addition, once Families of Parishes are implemented, a guidebook called, The Pathway, will aid Families of Parishes in their pastoral planning efforts.

More information about Beacons of Light, including frequently asked questions and downloadable resources are available at BeaconsAOC.org.

A review of information from the Oct. 1 press release sent to media regarding Beacons of Light:

Why is Beacons of Light happening?

The status quo is no longer an option. At this point a comprehensive pastoral planning process is a necessity in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati to garner stability and position the diocese for growth.
Our resources are largely consumed by efforts to maintain the status quo and are spread too thin to be truly effective. In particular, our priests are stretched to the limit, and we will have fewer priests who can serve as pastors over the coming years. The number of archdiocesan priests available for assignment is projected to decline by approximately 20% over the next five years.
Religious practice has been declining in both the United States and in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. From 2010 to 2019, sacramental practice (including baptisms, first communions, confirmations and weddings) in the archdiocese declined by 23%.
Our current infrastructure and schedules were built for a different era. In many cases, our church buildings are grossly underutilized. In the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, the average Sunday Mass is about one-third full.

Jennifer Schack

Director of Media Relations

Archdiocese of Cincinnati

Office | 513.263.6618

Cell | 859.512.5626

[email protected]

December 1, 2021 by Jennifer Schack

One of our great treasures as Catholics is the rhythm of the Church calendar in which the hopeful message of God’s great love for us is renewed each year in a way that is familiar yet always new. A new Church year has just begun with the First Sunday of Advent, November 28.

Advent is a joyful period of waiting and preparation for Christ’s birth. St. Luke, in this year’s Gospel for the Second Sunday of Advent, quotes the prophet Isaiah: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths” (Lk. 3:4; cf. Is. 40:3).

Advent is a season of hope precisely because it looks forward. The first readings of the Sunday liturgies for Advent present Old Testament prophets foreseeing a Messiah, whom we know to be Jesus. But Advent is not just about awaiting the Nativity of our Lord. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says, “When the Church celebrates the liturgy of Advent each year, she makes present this ancient expectancy of the Messiah, for by sharing in the long preparation for the Savior’s first coming, the faithful renew their ardent desire for his second coming” (CCC 524).

Advent reminds us that God keeps His promises now, as He did in the past and as He will in the future. As St. Paul assures us, “hope does not disappoint” (Rom. 5:5). The Advent candles we light on each of the four Sundays before Christmas remind us that Christ, for whom we are waiting, is the true light and hope of the world. When we radiate Christ, we share that light and bring that hope to others.

Christ is alive and present in His Church, which is still charged with making disciples of all nations. This is our sacred mission. That does not mean, however, that we can act as though nothing has changed over the past several decades. It would be irresponsible to do so, for the Church stands in the stream of time.

As joyful witnesses who must also be good stewards, we are called to make the best use of all the resources in our local Church. It is therefore appropriate to ask, are all our resources – human, physical and financial – properly ordered to missionary discipleship? Are they working in concert to continuously draw parishioners and attract new members into a more intimate relationship with Jesus? Or are they consumed by efforts to maintain the status quo and spread too thinly to be truly effective?

The Beacons of Light pastoral planning process is designed to address exactly these questions. I am convinced that this initiative, born in great hope, will enable us to form stronger parishes, centered on the Eucharist, that radiate the love of Christ and the joy of the Gospel. To the thousands of parishioners who recently gave feedback to help shape the final Families of Parishes, thank you. I am deeply grateful to you.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us, “The desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw man to himself. Only in God will he find the truth and happiness he never stops searching for” (CCC 27). God the Father has offered fulfillment to us through His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus has come so that we might have life in abundance (cf. Jn. 10:10). Advent is when we prepare to welcome Him into our hearts.

May the peace, joy, and fullness of life that only Christ can bring be yours this Advent and Christmas!