Catholic Parishes To Close in Greensburg

The Catholic Diocese of Greensburg says it's closing some parishes due to a drop in its number of priests and parishioners. The diocese will close 14 parishes later this month. Two others will merge and 26 will form new or modify existing priest-sharing agreements. The diocese provides a list of affected parishes on its website.

Diocese spokesman Jerry Zufelt says the decision came after a lengthy strategic planning process. He says most of the parishes that will close are small, and are located just a few miles from other parishes.

Zufelt also says the diocese has been working on recruiting more priests. The diocese currently has 83 active priests, but expects to have only 49 a decade from now.

The diocese covers Westmoreland, Fayette, Armstrong and Indiana counties.