The merged parish of Holy Sepulcher and Saint Kilian Parishes (Grouping 447)
Vision Statement

Our parish before all else worships God and celebrates the Sacraments. This will be done with the support of a combined music ministry (already existing) at the direction of a director and assistant director of music ministries (already employed).  The hope is to continue to celebrate the liturgy with enhanced ministries and participation.  This will include but not limited to additional vocal and instrumental options.  

Our parish will continue to provide access to our churches for personal prayer and devotion.  We will seek to foster prayer and devotion in traditional and innovative ways.  We are fortunate to have over 40 acres of property.  We hope to develop space on our properties for people to walk and sit and pray in safety and comfort.

Our parish will build upon current outreach ministries.  The food pantry in Mars will continue as will weekly Fellowship dinners as well as support for the prepared meals provided by the Butler parish and neighboring churches. .  The parish will continue to welcome (and support) the efforts of the members of the Saint Vincent de Paul Society to assist in that outreach for multiple service areas.

Our parish will continue to support Catholic education in its two existing schools.  These schools have proven that they are needed, stable and funded by family and parish support as well as the financial support of an anonymous donor who intends to continue to do so.  

Our parish will continue to provide various platforms for religious formation of children as the continuing needs dictate. Our programs for youth and well supported by staff and volunteers.  We intend to enhance our efforts at ministry to young adults.

Our parish will continue efforts at Evangelization.  We feel that this is not a program led by individuals but an obligation that must be embraced by every parishioner.  To this end, we feel that all the ministries (including the Catholic schools) must play a part in this effort.  

Our parish and its parishioners are active in community efforts in many ways.  Our parishioners belong to many local organizations and represent the Catholic Church and our parish by their activity.  We hope to continue to be present in all areas of the parish.

Our parish believes that efforts at encouraging vocations to the priesthood, diaconate and consecrated life is also a responsibility of every parishioner.  It is not enough to feel that someone else (or some diocesan office) can accomplish this.  We intend to provide programs of support for those considering such a vocation.

Our parish will clearly accept its financial responsibilities.  We are wholeheartedly committed to financial support for our parish ministries.  Likewise, we fully intend to bear our responsibilities to support the Bishop and Diocesan administration. We intend to be fiscally responsible and pay our bills and meet our financial obligations.

Our parish is fully aware that it is situated in an area of continued population growth and development.  We accept that we represent the Catholic Church and the Diocese in this area.  We are committed to continuing to evaluate all aspects of growth and development and be prepared to meet the needs of those who are new to our parish and region.
 

 

• September 11, 2022
• September 4, 2022
• August 28, 2022
• August 21, 2022
• August 14, 2022
• August 7, 2022
• July 31, 2022
• July 24, 2022
• July 17, 2022
• July 10, 2022
• July 3, 2022 

1. What is the difference between a “church” and a “parish”?
2. What does the merger of our parishes mean? 
3. What will be the name of the new parish?
4. Will one of our churches be closed?
5. Do the two churches retain their present name?
6. Will the unique vision of our parishes come to an end?
7. What will happen to our Catholic schools?
8. Will the schedule of Masses change?
9. What about parish Consultative Bodies?
10. What about organizations in our parishes?
11. What about our bulletins?
12. What about obtaining our sacramental records after the merger?
13. Will one new parish office be formed?
14. What about religious education programs?
15. What about Youth Ministry?
16. What about liturgical music?
17. What about maintenance of parish property and buildings?
18. What about the clergy of our parish?
19. What about the finances of the new parish?
20. What about Saint Kilian’s remaining construction debt?
21. What about church envelopes (and online giving)?
22. What about our existing outreach programs?
23. What about existing spiritual programs and devotional practices?
24. What will be different about celebrating the big feasts (e.g. Christmas, Easter) as one parish?  

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1. What is the difference between a “church” and a “parish”?
A “parish” is a specific geographic area designated by the diocesan bishop. A pastor is assigned to provide and coordinate pastoral care for those residing in that territory. A “church” is a building designated for worship and the celebrations of sacraments. A parish may have several churches. 

2. What does the merger of our parishes mean? 
It is a canonical (Church law) process whereby each of the parishes will be suppressed and a new parish will be created from the territory of the two former parishes. 

3. What will be the name of the new parish?
The Diocese has designed a process that invites input from all parishioners. Names may be submitted but cannot be the hyphenated names of the existing parishes. Neither can the suggestions be names already of current parishes or churches. Much more information on this process will be provided.

4. Will one of our churches be closed?
No. The geographic location of both churches strongly suggests that the bishop’s vision of a Church Alive can best be fulfilled by the two churches located where they are. There is no vision or plan that includes closing either of our new and beautiful churches.  
 

5. Do the two churches retain their present name?
Yes. In all the new parishes that have formed in the Diocese over the past few years, the churches have retained their names. 

6. Will the unique vision of our parishes come to an end?
No. Every effort will be made to incorporate what is best and fruitful in our current parishes into the vision and direction of the new parish. 

7. What will happen to our Catholic schools?
Our Catholic schools are ministries of our parishes. It is expected that they will continue to be ministries of the newly formed parish. Our two Catholic schools are successfully evangelizing children, young people, and families. Both schools are located in areas of population growth.  Holy Sepulcher Catholic School is the only parish/regional Catholic school on the Route 8 corridor between Glenshaw and Butler. Both Catholic Schools have demonstrated parish and community support. Both have strategies for growth and financial stability. 

8. Will the schedule of Masses change?
Two factors will govern the Mass schedule in the new parish. The first is the need for Masses demonstrated by attendance the second is the availability of assigned priests to the parish. Mass schedules will be reviewed as the parish is formed. Consultation of parishioners will be a major factor in any changes necessary in the future.

9. What about parish Consultative Bodies?
The one parish created will have one Finance Council and one Pastoral Council. The two existing Parish Finance Councils will retain separate functions until the actual date of establishment of the new parish. However, they will begin to meet jointly about elements related to the new parish.  A joint Pastoral Council will soon be formed to assist with significant elements of transition to one parish.

10. What about organizations in our parishes?
Existing parish organizations will continue to function as the needs of parishioners dictate. Locations, scheduling, etc. will need to avoid duplications and to foster participation of all parishioners.
What about groups like the Knights of Columbus, Ladies of Charity, and Saint Vincent de Paul? 
These organizations are Lay Associations of the Catholic Church. As such, they have independent structures that are governed by their own statutes. They have their own finances and accountability. As we become one parish each organization will be directed by their organizations as to how they will exist in our parish.

11. What about our bulletins?
At present we have a combined bulletin already. It is published by the same company and advertisers are unique to each area of the parish. There does not seem to be any need to change this.

12. What about obtaining our sacramental records after the merger?
That will change. The official sacramental books of the two former parishes will be taken to the Diocesan Archives. Record of sacraments received in the former parishes must be obtained for the Archives. The staff there is very responsive to requests. The newly formed parish (with its new name) will begin new sacramental record books. Records of sacraments received in the new parish should be requested from the offices of the new parish.

13. Will one new parish office be formed?
No. Because of the size and geographical breadth of the parish, it seems practical to helpful to maintain the two existing offices. Because of technology (and especially cloud-based data) communication and support from both offices exists currently and is expected to continue.

14. What about religious education programs?
Cooperation and coordination of religious education programs exists now. Of course, each family of the newly formed parish will continue to have the option of attending on site programs wherever they take place in the parish.

15. What about Youth Ministry?
A combined youth ministry program currently exists among the two parishes. The parish leadership and adult support fully expect to continue and enhance these programs as one parish.

16. What about liturgical music?
The liturgical music of both parishes is combined under one leadership team. A combined choir has been formed and is active in both churches. It is expected that our music ministry will continue to be enhanced and strengthened in one parish.

17. What about maintenance of parish property and buildings?
There are currently twelve separate buildings and around 40 acres of land owned by our two parishes.  A combined maintenance staff already exists and is operational in both parishes. This includes volume purchasing and other cost-saving measures. Parish leadership and the maintenance staff will review how the best service will be provided as we become one parish.

18. What about the clergy of our parish?
The assignment of ordained clergy to the combined parish remains the exclusive responsibility of the diocesan bishop. The number of priests and deacons assigned to the parish is determined by the bishop as he assets the needs of the parish and the needs of the Diocese.

19. What about the finances of the new parish?
Canon Law and Diocesan directives mandate that as two parishes are suppressed, and one new parish is created all assets of each parish become the assets of the new parish. This is also true of expenses and debts.

20. What about Saint Kilian’s remaining construction debt?
With the realignment of the boundaries of Saint Kilian and Saint Ferdinand parishes in January of 2002, it became necessary for Saint Kilian Parish undertake a building project to accommodate the 1,400 new families that became part of that parish. In the years that followed thirty million dollars of construction took place.  The remaining debt responsible to the parish is slightly over six million. The Diocese recently restructured the debts of all the parishes. Saint Kilian Parish signed an agreement to repay the Diocesan Deposit and Loan Fund according to an amortization schedule that retires the debt in 2045. Thus, there is a remaining “mortgage” payment due each month.

21. What about church envelopes (and online giving)?
One common envelope will be initiated, and a common posting of contributions will take place. It is planned that on each envelop (and in online giving) parishioners will be asked to contribute to the general operation of the parish through regular offertory as well as on-going obligation to Diocesan needs through the Parish Share Appeal. Provision will be made for parishioners to also direct contributions to special needs such as debt reduction or a fund for future development.  The Diocese has demonstrated a commitment to respect the intention of the donor.

22. What about our existing outreach programs?
The combined parish will certainly continue the existing parish outreach programs and hopefully will address future needs with additional programs. Because the new parish will be so large and wide, some ways of providing for needs in “service areas” will be established. 

23. What about existing spiritual programs and devotional practices?
The obligation to meet the spiritual needs of parishioners will continue as will the existing programs and devotional practices. Moving forward these elements will of course be open to all and the parish will continue to evaluate needs and develop additional program.

24. What will be different about celebrating the big feasts (e.g. Christmas, Easter) as one parish?  
There are general liturgical directives for the celebration of major feasts in a parish. Among these would be that there can be only one Easter Vigil in each parish. These are generally in place to provide a unity among the people of one parish.  However, there is the patronal feast of the parish that can be celebrated in both churches as well as the Solemnity of the anniversary of the dedication of each of the churches.  Nothing prevents the new parish from initiating new devotions and feasts.

New Parish Name

The naming of a new parish is an exciting part of becoming one and we invite all registered parishioners of Holy Sepulcher and Saint Kilian to be involved in this important process. Please take some time to prayerfully reflect on a new name, and carefully consider the reasons for proposing the name. The proposed name must meet the criteria below. Please include your rationale, your name and email address. Your rationale is important because it provides an explanation for the recommendation. Your name and email address will be used to verify your status as a registered parishioner.  Each registered parishioner may propose one new parish name. 

Any proposed name should be taken from:

• the Most Holy Trinity
• Our Lord Jesus Christ, invoked under a mystery of his life or under his name as used in the liturgy or Scripture
• the Holy Spirit
• the Blessed Virgin Mary under a given title already found in the liturgy
• the holy angels
• a saint from the list found on the Church's calendar of memorials and feasts
• all names of those who are beatified or named "blessed"

Please avoid the following:

• a name that is already used many times in the diocese (Current names of churches in the Diocese of Pittsburgh can be found HERE).
• hyphenated names of current parishes are not permitted.
• the names of other parishes, Catholic and non-Catholic, in or near our area to avoid any confusion. (Current parish names of the Diocese of Pittsburgh can be found HERE).

Submissions accepted September 15th through October 17th via the online form HERE.

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The Process of Choosing a New Name for our New Parish  

The process described below has been followed in each of the new parishes that have been formed.   What is below is the general outline of the process.  Additional detailed information will be provided before we begin the process.  We anticipate beginning the process in early October.  

Phase 1
All registered parishioners of both parishes will be invited to submit suggested names for the new parish.    Suggestions must include one of the follow criteria: ·Names associated with the Blessed Trinity, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit and the Blessed Virgin Mary (under titles included in the Church’s liturgy).     OR ·The name of a saint found in the Church’s calendar of Feasts and Memorials   OR ·The name of a person already beatified.  Please avoid suggesting the following (they will not be accepted): ·A name already used frequently in the Diocese ·Hyphenated names (for example:  Holy Sepulcher-Saint Kilian). ·Names of any existing parishes or churches in the Diocese (these are listed on the Diocesan website)

Phases 2 and 3
As you know there are several phases in the process of obtaining a name for our new parish. The initial phase involved an opportunity for parishioners to suggest names to be considered. At Midnight on Monday, October 17, 2022, that submission phase concluded. 303 individual submissions were received. Several of these submissions were for the same suggested names. Other names were not able to be considered because they were of existing parishes or churches, not on the General Liturgical Calendar or not part of the devotional tradition of the Church. Ultimately 40 names were proposed for consideration. The Combined Parish Pastoral Council met on Thursday, October 20, 2022, and had a full discussion of these names. In the end, the Council recommended submitting 12 names to the Bishop for a “preapproval.” We were permitted to submit up to 20 but the Council felt that a few less would bring more focus to future discussions. Below are the 12 names that were submitted to Bishop Zubik.
Following the submission of the above names, Bishop Zubik will make any changes to the list  submitted and return it to the parish. That final list will be printed in the parish bulletin and parishioners will be welcome to carefully review the list and select the “top five” (ranked in order of first through fifth choice). The Combined Parish Pastoral Council will review these and compile the final submission of five names (in order of preference). Bishop Zubik will make a final choice for the name of our new parish from that submitted list of five. He will inform the pastor and parish when he has done so.

Phase 4
Parishioners will be asked to select five (5) names from the list returned from the Bishop.    
This phase closes on January 31, 2023 

Phase 5
From that parish consultation, the names of five are then compiled and submitted to the Bishop. The Parish Pastoral Council assisted in this phase.  1,163 parishioners submit recommendations for the new name. 

The recommendation for a name of the new parish is:
Recommended First Choice – Saint Mark
Recommended Second Choice – Saint Veronica
Recommended Third Choice – Saint Lucy
Recommended Fourth Choice – Saint Dominic
Recommended Fifth Choice – Saint Timothy

   
 

Phase 6
The Bishop chooses from that list and informs the parishes of the new name of the new parish. 

Holy Sepulcher and Saint Kilian Parishes
Grouping 447  Holy Sepulcher and Saint Kilian Parishes
An Overview of Buildings

The Glade Mills Campus

• Church

• Pre-School Building

• Youth and Young Adult Center (Former Church)

• Rectory

The rectory was built in 1960. It is a 5 bedroom, 5 1/2 bathroom home with a three car garage.

   
 

• School Building 

• Bish House and Property

The Bish house and property was purchased in 2016 and added two acres of adjoining land to our campus.

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The Mars Campus

• Rectory

• The Food Pantry (the Former Church)

• Fellowship Hall

The Cranberry Campus

• Parish Administrative and Education Center (School Building)

• Field Center and Maintenance Building

• Church

• Rectory