Dear Friends,
As you may have seen on the news or in newspapers, our parish has been asked by the Archdiocese to take on
Holy Family Parish. The decree for the amalgamation was issued on January 22 and is effective April 20, 2020.
The principal motive for the decree was care for the people in the parish of Holy Family who have not had a
pastor for 25 years. At the two weekend Masses at Holy Family only about 30 people have been attending, they
have only had four baptisms in the last ten years and they have very limited material resources. With the
declining number of clergy in the Archdiocese and the need to provide vibrant ministerial services to the
community, the Archbishop would like us to welcome the parishioners of Holy Family to our community.
The other concern of the Archbishop was that the critical services to the poor offered by Holy Family Parish
continue into the future. To that end, we are offering the physical plant of Holy Family Church to the
St. Vincent de Paul Society who will continue and enhance the ministries to the poor that have been offered by
Holy Family Church. While Sunday Masses will no longer be offered at the church, the liturgical space will be
maintained for occasional Masses and prayer services offered by the St. Vincent de Paul Society.
What follows is the portion of the decree that has direct impact on us:
“I hereby decree that Holy Family Parish and St. Frances Cabrini Parish be amalgamated in an effort to
strengthen the preaching of the Gospel and to ensure the vitality of parish life in downtown and southeast
Omaha, with concern for the best stewardship of resources and the right of the People of God to receive
assistance from the Church, especially the Word of God, spiritual sustenance and the sacraments, and the
preservation of critical services to the poor.
St. Frances Cabrini Parish upon consolidation will obtain the ecclesiastical goods and corresponding rights and
obligation proper to Holy Family Parish and juridic persons, mindful, however, to respect donor intent with
regard to temporal goods. All Catholics having domicile within the current boundaries of the existing parishes
are hereby considered members of St. Frances Cabrini Parish, and, as such, are entrusted to the care of the pastor
of that parish. The rich legacy and history of Holy Family Parish is to be promoted and honored. Together, all of
the parishioners are encouraged to unite through union with Jesus Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament.
The territorial boundaries of St. Frances Cabrini Parish are expanded to include the previously existing parish
boundaries of Holy Family. Holy Family Parish registers containing records of baptisms, confirmation, marriage
and burials are to be conveyed to St. Frances Cabrini Parish where they are to be faithfully preserved.”
If you know any parishioners at Holy Family, please invite them to join us when they no longer have Masses at
Holy Family. Members of the Pastoral Council and I will be meeting with the parishioners of Holy Family to
extend a face-to-face invitation to join us. You have always been such a welcoming parish to all our newcomers
and guests; I trust you will do the same for those who will be joining us from Holy Family Parish.
Peace,
Fr. Damian