St. Bede and St. Peter to combine as one new Catholic parish in Lake County
St. Bede parish in Ingleside and St. Peter Parish in Antioch will be combined as part of a continuing restructuring by the Archdiocese of Chicago.
Two other Catholic parishes in northern Lake County - Prince of Peace in Lake Villa and St. Raphael in Old Mill Creek - will remain unchanged for now, according to the archdiocese, which announced the moves Monday night.
All four are part of the Lakes Region Grouping in the ongoing Renew My Church initiative, which covers every archdiocesan parish and school. The announcement followed a meeting of parishioners from all four parishes Monday at St. Raphael.
Changes for the North Shore Grouping of parishes in Winnetka, Wilmette and Northfield also were announced Monday. As in the Lakes Region, no schools are affected.
Last week, the archdiocese announced one school closing in plans for seven parishes in two groupings in Chicago.
The existing school at St. Bede will serve as the school for the new combined parish starting July 1. St. Peter school closed in 2016.
Prince of Peace will continue in its current structure with a full-time pastor, and the school there will remain as the parish school. St. Raphael, a relatively new parish, also will continue as is, with a full-time resident pastor, but its status will be re-evaluated in three to five years.
According to the archdiocese, both St. Bede and St. Peter will remain as "active worship sites" with one pastor and one pastoral staff member overseeing the new arrangement.
The union of the two will have a new name to be determined after a pastor is identified, according to Anne Maselli, spokeswoman for the archdiocese.
"The archdiocese's Priest Placement Board will work with the community to identify a pastor to lead the new parish formed by St. Bede and St. Peter," Maselli said. "The current pastors can apply for the pastor position for the new parish."
The two parishes will combine resources to create "a vital life-giving parish," according the archdiocese, but what that means for parishioners or employees was not immediately stated. Both churches referred questions to the archdiocese.
Maselli said the pastor of the new combined parish will determine staffing needs for the churches at St. Bede and St. Peter. Mass times for the new parish and those two worship sites also are being determined, she added.
Once the moves are in place, leaders of the new parish will collaborate with Prince of Peace and St. Raphael to "make disciples, build communities and inspire witness," which is regarded as the Renew My Church vision.