St. Peter And Sacred Heart Parishes Merge In Danbury

DANBURY, CT —The parishes of Saint Peter Church and Sacred Heart of Jesus in Danbury have merged into one parish, as ordered by Bishop Frank Caggiano of the Archdiocese of Bridgeport.

The bishop issued the decree in December, and it went into effect on Jan. 1.

"This determination has been made to strengthen the pastoral care of the People of God in this area of my diocese, to enhance the pastoral vitality and to improve the management of material resources," Caggiano wrote.

The unified parish will be known as Saint Peter Parish. Both churches will remain open and be administered by current Saint Peter pastor Rev. Greg Mecca, who has been seeing to both parishes since former Sacred Heart of Jesus pastor Rev. Norm Guilbert announced his retirement at the end of September.

"As I have said before, and we all know, change has to happen. I am looking forward to my retirement. I expect to be busy helping priests in other parishes in the Diocese. I will be one of the younger retired priests," Guilbert wrote in the Sept. 29 Sacred Heart of Jesus parish bulletin.

The move is the latest in a wave of parish consolidation in Connecticut, which saw New Haven's eight Roman Catholic churches merge to form one parish last July.