Bishop Joseph Galante formally announced today the establishment of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Parish, formed through the consolidation of Queen of Angels (Our Lady of Victories, Landisville and St. Michael, Minotola), Buena; St. Mary, Malaga; and St. Rose of Lima, Newfield, effective Aug. 31.
The announcement establishing the new parish was made in a formal decree, which is published in this edition of the Catholic Star Herald (pages 14-15).
Father Allain B. Caparas has been named pastor of the new parish for a six-year term.
The Church of St. Rose of Lima will be the seat of the new parish, serving the pastoral needs of the 2,500 families in Gloucester, Cumberland and Atlantic counties. Both St. Rose and St. Michael Church will be utilized for Sunday and daily Mass.
The parish boundaries will be those of the merging church communities.
It is the 34th decree issued by Bishop Galante in a diocesan-wide reconfiguration of parishes announced two years ago to strengthen parishes and improve pastoral care to the people of the Diocese of Camden. The reconfigurations are a result of more than a year of study by parish and deanery planners, who considered population and demographic trends, the number of diocesan priests available for ministry, Mass attendance and trends in religious practice.
“The core team members have worked hard to make this merger possible and are eager to move forward despite the challenges ahead,” Father Caparas said. “I am optimistic that through this merger we can bring the three parishes together into a deeper faith community.”
Kathleen Valla, a core team member from St. Rose of Lima, acknowledged the challenges, but knows that “what is in our hearts is most important.”
“A church is not just a building. A church is people. The church building is not the faith; the people are the faith.”
The merger was not without tensions, but Core Team members expressed optimism about the future.
Bill Quigley from St. Rose of Lima in Newfield, a third generation parishioner, said, “It’s up to us to make good things happen; we’ll make it work. Father Allain is young, vibrant. Hopefully all good will come.”
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