In the small township of New Waterford, Nova Scotia six Catholic parishes have consolidated into one.
“The process is extremely difficult, as you might expect,” said Antigonish Bishop Brian Dunn. “It is extremely difficult because people are connected to their own buildings and their parishes.”
At least two of the town’s five other parishes have closed. St. Joseph’s and St. Alphonsus, affectionately referred to as the Stone Church by locals, are slotted for demolition.
Donald McGillivary, Director of Pastoral Planning for the diocese, says parishioners have been fighting to save their local churches:
“It is like a perfect storm,” added McGillivary. “We have less clergy to do the work, we have less of an ability to finance the infrastructure that we have, so that is what we have to deal with and that is what we are responding to. What we are trying to do is to keep or develop or maintain viable parish communities where there are enough resources to be able to do what a parish needs to do.”