DECREE – For Publication to Each and Everyone

Greetings In The Lord

Among the most important responsibilities of the Bishop’s pastoral office is assurance that there is suitable provision of divine worship and Catholic community life for Christ’s faithful people who are committed to his care. At the same time the pastor of each parish needs to be able to satisfy without undue difficulty the parochial responsibilities assigned to him by his Bishop.

The following just causes support the establishment of a consolidated parish in the Haddon Township and Oaklyn areas of Camden County, New Jersey:

1) to provide more effectively for the pastoral needs of the faithful of the parish of The Church of Saint Vincent Pallotti in Camden County, New Jersey and the parish of St. Aloysius Catholic Church in Camden County, New Jersey;

2) to assure the vitality of parish life in this area;

3) to provide for a better stewardship of resources; and,

4) to provide for the optimum use of clergy, religious, and lay personnel.

For the reasons listed above as well as having blended harmoniously as a team in both prayer and work to seek a unified understanding of a newly formed parish; because of the communality of the parish communities of The Church of Saint Vincent Pallotti, 901 Hopkins Road, Haddon Township and St. Aloysius Catholic Church, 37 W. Haddon Avenue, Oaklyn; in response to the request of the pastor of these communities, Reverend Walter A. Norris to unite these parishes; the favorable advice of the local Vicar Forane; and having listened to the opinions of the Presbyteral Council about the needs of the Catholic Faithful in this area of Camden County, I have determined that the pastoral care of these communities will be fostered best by consolidating these individual communities and uniting them as one new parish.

Accordingly, in virtue of the prescripts of canon 121 and canon 515, §1 of the Code of Canon Law, in order to provide more effectively for the spiritual welfare and the salvation of souls, having judged that sufficiently just causes are present, and having consulted the Presbyteral Council in accord with canon 515, §2, I hereby DECREE, ANNOUNCE and PUBLISH:

The merger of The Church of Saint Vincent Pallotti, 901 Hopkins Road, Haddon Township and St. Aloysius Catholic Church, 37 W. Haddon Avenue, Oaklyn and the establishment of St. Joseph the Worker Parish.

Reverend Walter A. Norris will serve as the Pastor of St. Joseph the Worker Parish for a term of six years commencing on the effective date of this decree.

The parochial church of St. Joseph the Worker Parish, which retains its proper title and the name The Church of Saint Vincent Pallotti, is located at 901 Hopkins Road, Haddon Township, New Jersey. St. Aloysius Catholic Church will retain its own proper title and will be maintained as a worship site to be used by the merged community.

The territorial boundaries of St. Joseph the Worker Parish will be the same as the combined boundaries of the former parishes of The Church of Saint Vincent Pallotti and St. Aloysius Catholic Church. The establishment of these parish boundaries is duly recorded at the Chancery Office of the Diocese of Camden, as:

Start at the point the North Branch of Newton Creek and Peter Creek diverge at the west end of Oaklyn.

1. East along the North Branch of Newton Creek to its point of intersection with Lees Ln

2. North on Lees Ln to Lakeshore Dr

3. East on Lakeshore Dr to Conard Ave

4. North on Conard Ave to Belmont Ave

5. East on Belmont Ave to Cuthbert Blvd

6. North on Cuthbert Blvd to Park Blvd

7. East on Park Blvd, which becomes West End Ave, to Mt. Vernon Ave

8. West on Mt. Vernon Ave to Hopkins Ave

9. South on Hopkins Ave to Pine St

10. West on Pine St to the Pennsylvania Reading Seashore line

11. North on the Pennsylvania Reading Seashore line to its point of intersection with Peter Creek

12. West along Peter Creek to its point of intersection with the North Branch of Newton Creek (point of origin)

The goods and property of the parishes of The Church of Saint Vincent Pallotti and of St. Aloysius Catholic Church, including their real estate and buildings, as well as their debts and obligations, shall be assigned to St. Joseph the Worker Parish. Further, the voluntary offerings of the faithful, as well as other grants, pledges and gifts which have been or will be made to either of these predecessor parishes will constitute revenue to St. Joseph the Worker Parish for the benefit of the pastoral life of this community of the faithful as well as the rightful support of those who minister to them.

As of the effective date of this DECREE, the sacramental registers of The Church of Saint Vincent Pallotti, 901 Hopkins Road, Haddon Township and St. Aloysius Catholic Church, 37 W. Haddon Avenue, Oaklyn will be closed and moved to the seat of St. Joseph the Worker Parish. All sacraments administered from that date forward will be recorded in new sacramental registers of St. Joseph the Worker Parish.

I approve the statutes of St. Joseph the Worker Parish as submitted.

As of the effective date of this DECREE, the financial accounts of The Church of Saint Vincent Pallotti, 901 Hopkins Road, Haddon Township and St. Aloysius Catholic Church, 37 W. Haddon Avenue, Oaklyn will have been closed and transferred to the financial account of St. Joseph the Worker Parish.

As of the effective date of this DECREE, The Church of Saint Vincent Pallotti, 901 Hopkins Road, Haddon Township and St. Aloysius Catholic Church, 37 W. Haddon Avenue, Oaklyn will be civilly consolidated under the laws of the State of New Jersey as St. Joseph the Worker Parish, Haddon Township, N.J.

This DECREE becomes effective on October 12, 2011.

I instruct that this DECREE be communicated immediately to the parishioners of St. Joseph the Worker Parish by Reverend Walter A. Norris whom I have herein named their Pastor. This DECREE is likewise to be published immediately in the Catholic Star Herald and on the diocesan website.

Given in Camden, on this 9th day of September 2011, at the Diocesan Center.

Joseph A. Galante

Bishop of Camden

In cujus fidem…

Robert E. Hughes