LEWISTON — Holy Trinity Parish in Lisbon Falls and Our Lady of the Rosary Parish in Sabattus has become part of Prince of Peace Parish, currently comprised of the Basilica of Saints Peter & Paul, Holy Cross Church, and Holy Family Church, all in Lewiston.
“As a longtime parishioner of Our Lady of the Rosary and having been a member of the cluster committee from the beginning, I am happy to now see the process come to its final stage,” said Connie Chasse. “Our Lady of the Rosary in Sabattus will now merge with four other churches and we will all be one parish. It’s exciting.”
“This act of bringing our cluster under an umbrella resulting in creating one parish will allow us to continue to flourish in our faith, especially in these challenging times we are going through,” said Ivan Boudreau, a parishioner of Our Lady of the Rosary. “A special prayer goes out to our parish priests and to Bishop Deeley for their guidance and direction.”
“What an exciting time to be part of our parish! Our faith community is increasing. We will be a larger, more robust parish. We will have greater opportunities as one body to reach out to our community and expand and grow our ministries and services,” said Barbara Moran, a parishioner of Prince of Peace.
Fr. Daniel Greenleaf is currently the pastor of all three parishes and will continue to serve as pastor of the expanded Prince of Peace Parish.
“I really want to thank all of the priests who, over the years, have done the hard work of bringing the parishes to where they are now,” he said. “Together, we will all be stronger.”
Fr. Greenleaf has assured parishioners that being in communion as one parish will not mean that all of the churches will have to look and serve in the same way.
“I think that it is enriching to keep the local traditions and devotions,” he said. “The exciting difference is that now, these traditions will be appreciated by the entire parish. I am looking forward to seeing how this can make us a stronger Church in the area.”
To approve Fr. Greenleaf’s recommendation of merging these two parishes into Prince of Peace Parish, Bishop Robert Deeley ensured that all of the necessary canonical steps were followed, which included reviewing the discussions held in all three parishes, hearing the consultation of the Presbyteral Council, and obtaining the consent of both the College of Consultors and the Diocese of Portland’s Finance Council.
Holy Trinity Parish was established in 1995 when St. Anne Church in Lisbon (founded in 1885), Ss. Cyril & Methodius Church in Lisbon Falls (founded in 1923), and Holy Family Church in Lisbon Falls (founded in 1888) joined together to form the new parish. Our Lady of the Rosary Parish was established in 1975 after the Dominicans, who cared for a mission church in Sabattus from 1905 to 1975, transferred it to the Diocese of Portland.
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