Vicariates help parishes to share talent, pool resources

For some things, a diocese is too big and a parish is too small. That’s one reason there are regional groupings of Catholic churches called vicariates or deaneries.

As the number of clergy drops, vicariates may grow in importance, priests say. Parishes are likely to share ministry, pool resources and forge regional Catholic unity.

“What we are getting towards is vicariate-level ministry and doing things together so that if we are left with two priests instead of four priests in this region we can still manage,” says Father Panneer Selvam, vicar, or head, of the Santiam Vicariate of the Archdiocese of Portland.

The seven Catholic churches in small towns east of Salem lack money to hire separate youth ministers, for example. So they joined to hire a team that travels parish to parish and convenes youths from all the towns.

Eucharistic ministers are trained in a centralized program. The churches even had a joint capital campaign that raised $3.7 million to pay for new buildings at the region’s Catholic schools in Stayton.

A Catholic charismatic music group sprang up from the vicariate and travels all over the state.

Priests in the area have appreciated the monthly meetings, which started up about five years ago after a time in the doldrums. Clergy share solutions to problems parishes face. They also just enjoy one another’s company.

Father Selvam admits that creating unity in the Santiam district’s small towns has been simpler than in some other places. Almost everyone is related.

Even in big diverse cities, the priest says, vicariates can help create unity. Undue differences in liturgical practice can get ironed out, relieving confusion. Approaches to theology are even clarified in the vicariate structure, Father Selvam says.

Vicariates may soon be put to the test as parishes across the country are asked to implement new liturgical norms.

“The vicariate structure can bring uniformity in what we do with the norms,” Father Selvam says, adding that such cooperation will prevent confusion among worshipers.

Father Dennis O’Donovan, vicar general of the Archdiocese of Portland, says the idea of regional vicariates is to allow parishes to consolidate resources so they can take on ministry and services they could not do individually. Seminars, youth ministry and parish nurses are among vicariate projects.

The associations also are meant as conduits of communication between the archbishop and parishes. Calls can go out to the vicar, who in turn notifies the parishes of events, deaths, and so forth.

In short, the vicar represents the bishop in a region.

In the Archdiocese of Portland, vicariates have a new function in designing archdiocesan ministry. The Archdiocesan Pastoral Council is made up of lay representatives from the regions.

Some vicariates are more active than others. The farther from Portland, the more active they tend to be, Father O’Donovan says.

“It makes sense really,” he says, explaining that distance from the archbishop calls for more lively church leadership on some issues.

“We realize that we need to take some responsibility,” says Pauline Schulze, chair of the Southern Oregon Vicariate. She works closely with Conventual Franciscan Father Juniper Schneider of Roseburg, who is vicar.

“The vicariate lets the lay people have a voice and helps the people of southern Oregon feel they have a voice in the archdiocese,” Schulze says.

In southern Oregon, the vicariate has organized to counter an anti-Catholic billboard campaign. It has brought in speakers and sponsored massive Hispanic ministry festivals. There are joint youth activities and an aggressive adult faith formation program.

In some vicariates, the meetings draw parish staff and pastoral council chiefs. Lay people are given strong leadership roles.

“The laity brings a lot of elements to the group,” Schulze says. “Sharing of ideas is what we are talking about.”

In downtown Portland, the Catholic vicariate has helped parishes design a cogent approach to serving the homeless and other needy people.

“We make sure we are not duplicating,” says Father Joseph Jacobberger, vicar of the district.

Also in place is a joint confirmation ceremony and a possible push for cooperation in adult faith education.

The dozen parishes of the Southeast Portland Vicariate last fall teamed up with community organizations to host a festival on the Columbia River. The churches were responding to a letter from the Northwest’s Catholic bishops calling for care for the waterway.

No single parish could have pulled it off.

“We are bringing together parishes in the area to talk about common concerns,” says the new vicar of in Southeast Portland, Father Bob Barricks. He predicts more joint activities as the number of priests drops.

In North and Northeast Portland, the vicariate has sometimes been a tool for extending social action and justice ministry. The vicariate has held a workshop on racism and discussed ministry to Hispanics.

One speaker came in to help the parishes form small faith communities. On Good Friday, the vicariate helps organize a procession that compares the passion of Jesus to suffering in low-income areas.

“All of that happens because we know each other and are meeting with each other,” says Father Robert Krueger, vicar in the neighborhoods. “A lot of stuff happens informally, too.”

Father Krueger admits that, if pastors in an area focus on different parts of faith, vicariate action can be reduced to “the lowest common denominator.”

In the Beaverton Suburban Vicariate, as in many vicariates, priests help each other at reconciliation services during Advent and Lent. The vicariate has invited speakers on evangelization and ethnic ministries to talk to crowds larger than a single parish could round up.

Vicariates are good for inter-parish communication, but planning joint events has been tough, says Father George Wolf, vicar in Salem.

“Everybody is so busy,” says the priest. “And here in Salem, there is a world of difference between the parishes. Folks are pretty much homebodies and don’t go out to things at other parishes.”

The Salem Vicariate is discussing an area-wide Catholic celebration at the local baseball stadium, but few volunteers are coming forward to pull it off.

Still, Father Wolf says vicariates may be more important than ever in a “post-lawsuit archdiocese.” With potentially fewer funds, parishes may have to join up on youth ministry and other projects, he predicts.

He also sees vicariates as the best means of surfacing issues that go beyond parish life. The Salem group is involved in a nascent community organizing movement that will advocate for the needy. It also takes part in an ongoing Catholic ministry to the nearby state prisons.

In the Diocese of Baker, Bishop Robert Vasa has said he hopes to make refinements to what are there called deaneries.

The diocese’s chancellor, Father Jim Logan, says the deaneries now have “minimal function,” mostly as lines of communication between the bishop and the priests.

The future of deaneries, Father Logan says, may include shared ministry and ongoing faith education.

“The deaneries have always been rather toothless,” says Father Charles Dreisbach, dean in the southern region.

In the widespread diocese, long distances between parishes make some cooperation impractical, Father Dreisbach explains.

For example, parishes in Lakeview and Klamath Falls are in the same deanery, but are two hours apart.

But, the priest says, deanery meetings are valuable in that they increase the fraternity of priests.

“Any time you get priests together it is a good thing,” he says.

Father Todd Unger, dean in the west of the diocese, says that the coalitions have proven helpful in many situations.

When the mother of a priest died just before Easter, priests in The Dalles and elsewhere not only provided comfort, but stepped up to the plate to cover Masses. That all started because the bishop called the dean to handle the situation.

“One of the roles of the dean is to bring people together,” says Father Unger. “The dean should help other pastors with their difficulties and share ideas. I can really see it working.”

Vicariates and deaneries in Oregon

Canon law provides for vicariates in which a priest acts as a vicar, or representative, of the bishop. The vicar is appointed by the bishop, though in some places priests choose a candidate to be approved.

The Archdiocese of Portland calls the regional divisions vicariates, and the Diocese of Baker calls them deaneries.

Canon law charges vicars with tending to the welfare of the region’s priests.

There are 19 vicariates in the Archdiocese of Portland and five deaneries in the Diocese of Baker.