Priests recommend merging two parishes in Dorchester to grow an “active presence”

Pastor Brian Clary and Father Robert Connors, temporary administrator of Saint Ann, Saint Brendan parishes collaborative in Dorchester, have proposed a formal merging of both parishes to Cardinal Seán O’Malley, Latin Catholic Archbishop of Boston.

The transcendental change, if achieved, will result in a new Dorchester parish retaining the two worship sites, and the school currently run by Saint Brendan parish.

Father Robert Connors, who is the temporary administrator while Pastor Clary recovers from a stem cell transplant to treat amyloidosis, explained the merging proposal in a letter to parishioners.

Holding an “insurmountable” debt of almost a million dollars, the “decreased attendance,” and now the crisis derived from the Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, Connors explains that the merger will allow consolidating efforts, combining assets and liabilities of both parishes, and “the ability to work together to build the local church.”

“A parish is not its buildings, nor its bank accounts – it is the people of God. It is about growing in faith. Yes, money is a problem; it is not the solution nor our goal – an active Catholic presence is our goal,” stated Father Connors.

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