St. Dorothy's and St. Thomas Named Among Church Collaboration List

By Andrew Sylvia

The Archdiocese of Boston has announced St. Dorothy's and St. Thomas in Wilmington have been named as two of 45 Catholic parishes across the state that will enter collaborative efforts with other parishes in the second phase of an effort to pool resources within the state’s churches.

St. Catherine’s will join with St. Anne Church in Littleton as part of a effort that Archdiocese Director of Pastoral Planning Fr. Paul Soper says is a directive of Cardinal Sean O’Malley and Pope Francis I within the archdiocese called “Disciples in Mission – A Pastoral Plan for the Archdiocese of Boston.”

“We are learning much from the Phase One implementation, which will serve us well as we begin Phase Two,” said Soper. “I am particularly grateful to our pastors and parishes which have provided valuable input throughout the consultation process, guiding us as we implement ‘Disciples in Mission’ across the archdiocese.”

The first phase began in January according to the Boston Globe, which reported that the reorganization aims to eventually group the archdiocese’s 288 parishes into about 135 clusters.

More information on the initiative can be found on the Archdiocese of Boston’s Office of Pastoral Planning website.