On Nov. 4, Bishop Joseph Galante formally announced that the parishes of Transfiguration, West Collingswood, and Immaculate Heart of Mary, Woodlynne, will unite and the new parish resulting from the consolidation, Most Precious Blood, will be established Dec. 7.
In addition, Bishop announced that the parishes of St. Isidore and Sacred Heart, both located in Vineland, will unite and the new parish, Christ the Good Shepherd, will be established Dec. 7.
The announcements establishing the new parishes were made in formal decrees, which are published in the Nov. 4 edition of the Catholic Star Herald (pages 12-15).
These are the 37th and 38th decrees issued by Bishop Galante in a diocesan-wide reconfiguration of parishes announced two years ago to strengthen parishes and improve pastoral care to the people of the diocese. The reconfigurations are a result of more than a year of study by parish and deanery planners, who considered population and demographic trends, the number of diocesan priests available for ministry, Mass attendance and trends in religious practice.
Most Precious Blood is not only a territorial parish, but a personal parish for the Vietnamese Catholic community, with worshippers coming not only from West Collingswood and Woodlynne, but from surrounding areas inside and outside the Diocese of Camden..
Msgr. John Burton has been named pastor of Christ the Good Shepherd, for a six-year term. St. Isidore will be the seat of the parish, serving the pastoral needs of 2,700 households in Vineland, with Sacred Heart remaining open as a worship site.