At least 19 Lackawanna churches will be closing

SCRANTON -- Lackawanna County and the Diocese of Scranton will see at least 19 churches close under the final restructuring plans announced by Bishop Joseph Martino this weekend, with another nine churches consolidating with another church but remaining open as “additional worship sites,” at least for a while.

Here are the closings, by church “cluster.”

Cluster 1 - St. Michael and St. Patrick, Scranton, will consolidate at St. Patrick “in the remote possibility that the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter withdraws from St. Michael Parish.” If so, a new location would be found to hold the “Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.”

Cluster 2 - St. John the Baptist, Taylor; Immaculate Conception, Taylor; St. Joseph, Minooka, Scranton; and St. Mary of Czestochowa, Greenwood, will consolidate at St. Joseph.

Cluster 3 - St. Francis of Assisi, St. John the Evangelist, and Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, Scranton will consolidate at Sacred Hearts. St. Francis remains as an additional worship site. Nativity, Holy Name of Jesus, and St. Mary of the Assumption, Scranton, will consolidate at the Nativity site with Holy Name as an additional site.

Cluster 5 - Holy Family, and St. Peter’s Cathedral, Scranton, will consolidate at St. Peter’s Cathedral. Immaculate Conception, Scranton, and Christ the King, Dunmore, will consolidate at Immaculate Conception site. St. Paul, Scranton, and St. Clare, Scranton, will consolidate at St. Paul, though St. Clare remains as additional site.

Cluster 6- St. Mary, St. Lawrence O’Toole, and St. Michael, Old Forge, will consolidate at St. Mary, with St. Lawrence as an additional site.

Cluster 7 - St. Mary of Mt. Carmel, St. Casimir, and All Saints, Dunmore, will consolidate at St. Mary of Mt. Carmel. St. Anthony and St. Rocco, Dunmore, will consolidate St. Anthony, with St. Rocco as additional site.

Cluster 9 - St. Thomas Aquinas, Archbald, and St. Mary of Czestochowa, Eynon, will consolidate at St. Thomas Aquinas, with St. Mary as an additional site. Sacred Heart of Jesus, Mayfield, and Sacred Heart of Mary, Jermyn, will consolidate at Sacred Heart of Mary.

Cluster 10 - St. Michael, St. Patrick, and Holy Ghost, Olyphant, will consolidate at St. Patrick. St. John the Baptist, St. Anthony, and St. Bridget, Throop, will consolidate at St. Anthony.

Cluster 11 - St. James, St. Michael, and St. Mary’s Assumption, Jessup, will consolidate at St. Michael, with St. Mary as an additional site.

Cluster 12 - Corpus Christi, Montdale, and St. Pius X, Royal, will consolidate at Corpus Christi, with St. Pius as an additional site. St. Rose of Lima, Carbondale, and St. Michael, Simpson, will consolidate at St. Rose of Lima, with St. Michael as an additional site. St. Rose of Lima and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Carbondale, will consolidate.

Cluster 13 - St. James, Pleasant Mount, and St. Juliana, Rock Lake, will consolidate at St. James, with St. Juliana as an additional site. St. Cecilia, Hilltop, and Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Lake Como, will close. Sacred Heart of Jesus, St. Agnes, and St. Joseph, Forest City, will consolidate at St. Joseph

Cluster 14 – Holy Rosary, St. Joseph, and St. Anthony of Padua, Scranton, will consolidate at Holy Rosary.

Another nine churches will be consolidating with another church but remaining open as “additional worship sites,” at least for a while.