Ss. Peter and Paul’s Roman Catholic Church, at 508 Cherry St. has been ordered by official decree of the Bishop of Buffalo the Rev. Michael W. Fisher to merge with St. James Parish of Jamestown, 27 Allen St. by Feb. 28. P-J file-photo

Merge.

The Catholic Bishop of Buffalo, the Rev. Michael W. Fisher, has officially issued a decree regarding the fate of Ss. Peter and Paul and St. James parishes Thursday evening. The diocese’s decision remains to merge the parishes.

The official decree can be found at cniffamily.org and says, in part, “All the parish and sacramental records of the extinct Holy Apostles Ss. Peter and Paul, and St. James parishes are to be properly preserved and safeguarded in the parish archives of St. James Parish, Jamestown, in accord with the norm of law.”

The decree also stated, “This decree is to be effective on Friday, 28 February 2025.”

There was initially confusion whether or not the decree also set a closing date for Ss. Peter and Paul.

“The February 28th date is for merger only. To close a building would require another decree,” said Joe Martone, Buffalo Diocese communications manager.

While there have been meetings over the past few months amongst Ss. Peter and Paul members after the church was included on the diocese’s list of churches to be closed, parishioners couldn’t take official action until the diocese’s official decrees are issued.

“The diocese issued their decree,” said Tony Dolce, a parishioner at Ss. Peter and Paul church, regarding the church merger decree. “According to Cannon law we now have 10 days to appeal the decree. Our appeal is ready to go. The diocese will then have 30 days to respond to our appeal.”

Closure of Ss. Peter and Paul and its merger into St. James is part of the 79 church closures and 39 secondary sites identified for mergers as part of the Road to Recovery. Part of the driving force behind the Road to Recovery plan is the potential of the greying of the church’s priesthood.

“The average age of a priest in our diocese is 76,” said Martone. “Our priests are aging out. We have a shortage of priests. The Catholic church, nationwide, is facing the same problem.”

According to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. the number of priests across the U.S. has dropped by about 38 % — from nearly 60,000 priests in 1970 to 37,192 in 2016.

Catholic church officials are reporting a decline in attendance, an aging body of worshipers, a lack of younger generation parishioners to fill the age gaps, and a decline in the sacrament of marriage.

Church officials are reporting a large decline in the number of available priests in the diocese.

“The average age of priests is 76-years old, and it’s estimated that 63% of priests in the dioceses will be between age 65 and 70 by 2030. The diocese also reported it had 173 priests in 2012, down to 115 today, with only 70 expected in the diocese by 2030,” said Martone. “The situation is bleak.”

Ss. Peter and Paul members have argued attendance is still solid at Ss. Peter and Paul while the church remains financially viable.