Parish workbooks, which contain historical, demographic, sacramental and financial data about each parish, released to public
DETROIT — The Archdiocese of Detroit’s restructuring process continued March 3 as hundreds of priests gathered at Sacred Heart Major Seminary to review and give feedback on dozens of proposed pastorate models, which will be presented this spring for parishioner feedback during more than 400 planned parish listening sessions.
Archbishop Edward J. Weisenburger, who addressed the priests and also spoke with local media, reflected that the two-year Archdiocesan Restructuring process, which began last summer, is nearing the “halfway” mark.
While acknowledging the sober conversations ahead, Archbishop Weisenburger said he’s been encouraged by the collaborative spirit of the priests’ discussions and looks forward to hearing feedback from parishioners and parish communities this spring.
“My message to the priests today was one of hopefulness,” the archbishop told local media. “I think they’ve caught that spirit, and they realize the potential for good here.”
The need to restructure the archdiocese is a result of decades of declining Mass attendance, a shrinking and aging presbyterate, and a surplus of church buildings and infrastructure that, taken together, have strained the local Church’s ability to effectively minister in the 21st century, local leaders have said.
Preparations for the restructuring work have been under way since last year, and the process was announced to the public in November 2025.
In January 2026, nearly 175 priests gathered to begin praying, discerning and drafting models for new pastorates — groupings of one or more parishes headed by a single pastor.
In the weeks since, those models have been further refined and tweaked in preparation for this spring’s listening sessions, when parishioners will get their first look at the new proposals, said Fr. Mario Amore, executive director of the archdiocese’s Department of Parish Renewal.
Speaking with local media, Fr. Amore stressed that the models are only a “starting point” for discussions, and no final decisions have been made.
“What we’re kicking off today, starting with the priests, is really phase two, which is listening,” Fr. Amore said. “We’re listening to their feedback on the refined models, receiving that feedback, collecting it, archiving it, and then waiting for the feedback that we’ll receive from the lay faithful.”
Later this month, the same proposals will be shared with key parish leaders — advisors in each parish appointed to help priests in the restructuring process, Fr. Amore said.
Each parish in the Archdiocese of Detroit will then host two listening sessions between April and June, after which the proposals will undergo another round of refinement.
“More than 400 sessions will take place, and this is where any parishioner can come, see the models and give their feedback,” Fr. Amore said. “If a parishioner isn’t able to come to those sessions in person, there will be an opportunity to give their feedback online via a digital survey.”
Registration for parish listening sessions will begin the weekend of March 14-15, and a link to register will be available on the Archdiocesan Restructuring website.
In preparation for those listening sessions, parish workbooks have been compiled for all 209 parishes, which offer a comprehensive and detailed look at the historical, demographic, sacramental and financial data and trends for each parish, planning area and the Archdiocese of Detroit as a whole, Fr. Amore said.
Those workbooks are available starting March 4 on restructuring.aod.org.
Fr. Amore said the exhaustive data in the workbooks — which were compiled over several months by members of the Department of Parish Renewal and validated by priests and parish leaders at each parish — includes nearly 12,000 pages and more than 1.3 million unique data points.
Still, he said, that information only tells part of the story.
“All of those different statistics and data points help us to make decisions and give us a fuller context of our parish communities, but there are a lot of other things that we need to take into consideration as we move through this process,” Fr. Amore said. “That’s why that feedback (from the listening sessions) is so important, to help inform the data in these workbooks.”
Travis Greer, director of pastoral strategies in the Department of Parish Renewal, said releasing the workbooks publicly is a sign of the Archdiocese of Detroit’s commitment to transparency throughout the restructuring process.
“We’re having open conversations about what the reality is on the ground, and where we need to move in the future,” Greer said. “The whole point of the parish workbook is a place to start the conversation.”
During the parish listening sessions, parishioners will see two to four different models of potential pastorates involving their parish, Fr. Amore said. The models will also include a proposed number of priests assigned to the pastorate, as well as a proposed number of weekend Masses per parish.
Fr. Amore cautioned that parishioners may see difficult realities reflected in the models, such as in the case of parishes where weekend Masses may no longer be celebrated in the future, or pastorates in which fewer priests are assigned.
However, such a scenario does not automatically mean a parish will close — or even that the model reflects the final outcome, Fr. Amore said.
Rather, that’s the purpose of the discussion, he said.
“A model that is shown even during the listening sessions is not a final model,” Fr. Amore said. “When we look at other dioceses that have gone through similar processes, we can expect that anywhere between 20% and 40% of the models that are presented for feedback and input will change by the time we come to a final decision.”
All of the feedback will be collected, analyzed, compiled and considered, Fr. Amore said, and once the proposals are refined for the final time, they will be shared with Archbishop Weisenburger for his discernment.
The archbishop’s decisions about each pastorate are expected to be announced in late 2026 or early 2027, with new pastorates being implemented in July 2027.
In addition to new pastorates, Fr. Amore said parishioners can expect that come July 2027, most priests in the Archdiocese of Detroit will receive a new assignment.
“Most of the lay faithful can expect that they will have a new priest, a new pastor at that time,” Fr. Amore said. “We’re expecting a large-scale movement of priests to serve the different pastorates, really trying to match the gifts of the priest with the specific needs of the community.”
“That’s something that will be difficult for the faithful, and for our priests as well, as we try to understand the gifts and talents we have to best serve the needs of the local Church,” Fr. Amore said.
The main difference between a pastorate and the archdiocese’s current model, known as Families of Parishes, is in the governance of each group of parishes.
Under the Families of Parishes model, most parishes are collectively overseen by a team of priests — referred to as in solidum — while in a pastorate, a single pastor is responsible for the administration and oversight of all parishes, in some cases assisted by other priests.
With fewer priests projected to be available to serve the Archdiocese of Detroit in the years ahead — the archdiocese expects about a 40% decline in the next 10 years — the goal is to create a reality in which priests and parishes are able to flourish and grow, supporting the needs of each community, Fr. Amore said.
“We have to place our trust in the Lord and the Holy Spirit that He’s guiding us through this process,” Fr. Amore said. “No one is saying this is an easy process, and we have to be mindful of that, because our parish communities are really important to us.”
Review your parish workbook
As of March 4, parish workbooks for each of the Archdiocese of Detroit’s 209 parishes are available on restructuring.aod.org. Parishioners are invited to review the workbooks — which contain important historical, demographic, sacramental and financial data — as they prepare for their parish listening sessions.
Registration for parish listening sessions will begin March 14-15, and a link will be made available at restructuring.aod.org.
