Diocese to consolidate 5 Gloucester County parishes into 2

The Diocese of Camden plans to consolidate five more Roman Catholic churches into two new parishes, according to a statement on the diocesan website.

The changes, set to take place Sept. 29, will affect about 5,500 families in Gloucester County, according to the statement by Bishop Joseph Galante.

Forming St. Clare of Assisi Parish will be St. John the Evangelist in Paulsboro, St. Joseph in Swedesboro, and St. Michael in Gibbstown, according to the statement. The seat of the parish will be at St. Michael.

St. Michael the Archangel Parish will combine Nativity Parish in Franklinville and St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Clayton. It will be anchored at Nativity Church.

"I am so encouraged by the dedicated work of our clergy, religious, and laity in all of these parishes who have come together in a common mission to strengthen these parish communities for the sake of the faithful in South Jersey," Galante said in the statement posted online. "This points to a most hopeful future for our church."

The changes are the latest in a massive parish consolidation that Galante announced two years ago for the six-county diocese. Some churchgoers have resisted the mergers, but about a third of the diocese's churches are struggling with debt, and church leaders have said the consolidations will allow churches to provide better services to parishioners.

Since June 2009, Galante has issued 24 decrees forming new parishes by merging churches.