13 Catholic parishes to close in Northern California

More than a dozen Catholic parishes will be shut down in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. The Diocese of Oakland said Wednesday it planned to shutter 13 of its churches. Seven of the churches are located in Oakland, Calif., while six others sit outside the city. The Diocese said the closures stemmed from a lack of priests, low Mass attendance, a decline in Catholic school enrollment, and financial struggles.

Some parishes can’t afford to pay for staff to serve the church while others have survived on rental of parish parking lots or empty school facilities, Bishop Michael Barber said in a statement. He added that the status quo was not sustainable nor was it serving God’s people.

What has led to the Diocese's current financial state? It filed for bankruptcy in 2023 after facing several hundred lawsuits and claims of sex abuse. Last week, a jury ordered the ministry to pay $16 million to a victim in one of these lawsuits. The order could pave the way for similar rulings in other lawsuits against the Diocese. But the bishop did not say in his Wednesday statement whether the lawsuits led to the closure of the parishes.

Where will parishioners go to Mass now? Bishop Barber said it was his priority to ensure all affected parishioners would be welcomed at nearby parishes. He added that the timeline of the closures will be determined by each parish’s leadership. Barber reminded parishioners that the church has never been only a building. He said that the faith of the Diocese’s people affected by the closures will continue in different places and with new people.

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