BLESSED TRINITY CATHOLIC CHURCH

The summer of 2008 would prove to be a memorable one for catholics in the Archdiocese of New Orleans. In the spring, Archbishop Alfred C. Hughes had announced Phase II of the Archdiocesan Pastoral Plan. The plan called for 27 parishes to be closed and merged with neighborhing parishes, 4 to become missions and 2 to becomce campus ministry centers. The plan was the result of archdiocesan and parish leaders responding to the declining number of priests available for parish ministry and the impact of Hurricane Katrina on finacial and human resources. 

The summer months were designated as a time for parish meetings of parishioners of all of the affected communities in preparation for the mergers. Facilitators were enlisted by the archdiocese to lead the transition process. Sr. Lory Schaff, CSJ, Sr. Kathleen Ballinger, CSJ and Ms. Lynn M. Buggage were assigned as facilitators of the merger of Our Lady of Lourdes, St. Monica and St. Matthias parishes in New Orleans. The facilitators were given the assignment of assisting with the establishment of a new parish whose identitiy would be the result of true collaboration and the appreciation for the gifts the parishioners would bring to the Roman-Catholic experience. 

The process began with individual meetings of each of the affected congregations. This particular merger proved to be unique in that the doors of Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Monica were closed to parishioners since Katrina. Many of the parishioners had already begun attending Mass at St. Matthias and/or surrounding parishes prior to the announcement. These invididual meetings were meant to allow time for reflection, feedback and to gain an understanding of the gifts that the parishioners from each of the contributing parishes had to offer to the newly established parish. The hope was that the best of all the communities could be included in the new parish. 

The individual meetings were followed by a series of group meetings with the parishioners of all the parishes involved in the merger. The goal of these meetings was to share the hopes, gifts and ideas borne out of the individual meetings for the soon to be created parish. Since many of the parishioners were already working together at St. Matthias there was already much agreement on what the newly formed parish should contain in terms of shared traditions and values. These ideas were offered to the leadership of the new parish as recommendations on how to begin the process of creating one family. 

The team members who were facilitating the process felt that the name of the parish was going to be the hardest decision to make. Archbishop Hughes had indicated he thought the new parish should have a different name than those already established. However, this was not a requirement. The facilitators put the name to a vote and submitted the information to Archbishop Hughes along with the recommendations of the parishioners. 

On August 6, 2008, the Feast of the Transfiguration, Our Lady of Lourdes, St. Monica and St. Matthias were suppressed as canonical parishes and Blessed Trinity Catholic Parish was established at St. Matthias Church. 

*adapted from Forming Blessed Trinity Parish by Lynn M. Buggage