Oak Forest Church And School To Remain Same Amidst Mergers

OAK FOREST, IL — The Chicago Archdiocese announced Monday plans to merge three south suburban churches into two parish groups. A church in Midlothian and a parish in Oak Forest will become the main sites for the unified parishes, which has been a plan in the works since 2015.

Starting July 1, St. Christopher in Midlothian and St. Stanislaus Bishop & Martyr in Posen will merge as a new parish. The former two churches will share a new name, one pastor and one administrative team. While church officials said they will still retain ownership of St. Stanislaus Bishop & Martyr buildings, Mass will be conducted from the St. Christopher location.

In order to represent the community, Rev. Robinson Ortiz will serve as pastor of the new parish and offer Mass in Spanish and English. The merger will not affect the St. Christopher school.

In addition, St. Damian Parish and School in Oak Forest will continue in its current structure, skipping the merging which is affecting many Illinois churches.

The new structure is part of the Renew My Church operation, which found clustering faith communities together made for stronger parishes and membership, a representative from the archdiocese said.

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Over the next several months, the archdiocese and current parish pastors, together with Renew My Church, will work with local leaders to ensure united faith communities and staff are supported during the transition.

"All parishes will embark on the next phase of renewal to become stronger, more sustainable and capable of reaching more people in their work of making disciples of Jesus Christ, building communities and inspiring witness," the archdiocese said.

According to a spokesperson for the Renew My Church initiative, the decision to merge the Posen church with Midlothian was due to the size of both congregations and the condition of the buildings.

For more information on the process, go to renewmychurch.org.