Three Rochester-area Catholic parishes are included in the Archdiocese of Detroit’s restructuring process, with new draft models available for their planning area.
St. Andrew Parish in Rochester, St. Irenaeus Parish in Rochester Hills and St. Mary of the Hills Parish in Rochester Hills appear in the archdiocese’s Planning Area 10. Its website links to two Round 2 draft models, 10E and 10F.
The archdiocese released revised proposals Monday, Oct. 19, as part of a process involving its 209 parishes, WXYZ reported. Some parishes in the archdiocese could merge or lose weekend Masses. Inclusion in the planning process does not by itself establish that any of the three Rochester-area churches would lose Masses.
The archdiocese attributes the restructuring to declining Catholic participation and fewer available priests. It says its Catholic population has fallen from about 1.5 million to approximately 900,000 and projects fewer than 165 priests in parish ministry by 2029.
“This is a challenging conversation for all of us,” the Rev. Mario Amore, executive director for parish renewal, told WXYZ.
The three local churches already belong to the Rochester Family of Parishes, according to Detroit Catholic.
Drafts, not final decisions
In July, The Oakland Press reported that at least 90 parishes appeared across 47 earlier draft models proposing an end to weekend Masses.
The archdiocese said that figure counted distinct parishes across all those alternatives, rather than the number that would lose weekend Masses under one plan.
Amore told the newspaper that the planning guideline sets a maximum of three weekend Masses per priest. Some drafts removed Saturday Vigil or Sunday Masses from churches where the proposed priest assignments could not cover every location.
Ending weekend Masses would not automatically close a church. The Oakland Press reported that buildings could initially remain available, at a pastor’s discretion, for prayer, weddings and funerals.
“These are draft models, not final decisions, created and shared specifically to spark discussion and feedback,” Holly Fournier, the archdiocese’s associate director of communications, told The Oakland Press in July.
What happens next
The revised proposals reflect feedback from more than 17,000 Catholics, WXYZ reported. Amore said the archdiocese analyzed that feedback during August and September before refining the models.
The current official timeline places listening and refinement through December 2026, followed by decisions and implementation preparations during January–June 2027. Implementation begins in July 2027.
Parishioners can review the Rochester-area models on the Planning Area 10 page and find contact information on the archdiocese’s restructuring website.
