The Archdiocese of Philadelphia plans to close two Catholic churches in suburban Bucks County by merging them with two nearby parishes.
The Bucks County Courier Times says Archbishop Charles Chaput will decide May 30 whether to accept a proposal from a strategic planning committee to close Immaculate Conception Church in Bristol Township and St. Joseph the Worker Church in Falls.
If the churches close, Immaculate Conception's 3,300 parishioners would merge with Queen of the Universe Church, which has about 6,900 members. The combined weekend attendance for both churches is about 2,250.
St. Joseph the Worker would merge with St. Francis Cabrini, giving the new parish nearly 8,000 members.The merging parish churches would remain open as worship sites for at least a year. In both instances, the merging churches are within three miles of one another.
