Two Linn County Catholic churches to merge

FAIRFAX - The congregations of John XXIII in Cedar Rapids and St. Patrick's in Fairfax will merge into one new parish, Blessed John XXIII, later this year, according to officials with the Archdiocese of Dubuque.

Msgr. Russell Bleich, episcopal vicar for the Cedar Rapids region of the archdiocese, said a declining number of priests and nuns and an increasing number of deacons and lay leaders has made it necessary to combine the two parishes to decrease the amount of duplicity occurring within the church. One priest, the Rev. Dustin Vu, serves both parishes and attends similar meetings at each church, Bleich said.

He said that since the early 1990s the vision of the archdiocese has been to have just one Catholic church serving the southwest area of Cedar Rapids.

Bleich said the business end of the merger - the dissolution of the two churches and the emergence of the new parish - should be completed by September. Mass will still be held in each building until summer 2011, he said, at which time the building housing St. Patrick's in Fairfax will become an oratory, used for special services such as funerals and weddings, and all Masses will be held at what is now John XXIII, 8100 Roncalli Dr. SW.

There are approximately 2,000 people attending the two churches, Bleich said. John XXIII currently holds two Sunday Masses and St. Patrick's holds one Sunday Mass; when the two parishes combine next year, Blessed John XXIII will hold three Sunday Masses.

An informational meeting for the parishes is set for 7 p.m. Wednesday at St. Patrick's, 324 Church St., Fairfax.