Changes coming to Mass schedules for Pittsburgh churches

If you’re used to your weekly Mass time at your church, it could soon be changing.

As the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh merges 188 parishes into 48 groupings, officials are adjusting the schedules of religious services as well.

With the consolidation, each priest assigned to a grouping is permitted to preside over just three Masses a weekend, meaning some Mass times could change or be eliminated altogether.

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“I think people will say, ‘I want my Mass time, I want my pew, I want my particular church building,’ and I think sometimes folks will miss the point of why we are coming to celebrate in the first place,” said Bishop David Zubik.

The changes will be up to each church grouping. Zubik told Channel 11 priests are going to look into most popular Mass times, plus a number of other factors, like the size of buildings or parking.

The selected mass times will then be presented to parishioners.

“They’re going to give them a chance to say, ‘Here’s what the proposed Mass schedule is going to look like, what do you think?’” Zubik said.

The bishop is used to hearing that sort of feedback, especially after announcing the merger.

“We are trying to bring people together in a much closer relationship, and Mass time issue is just one part of this beautiful puzzle,” he said.

The groupings will be announced in April and the Mass times further down the road.

Cox Media Group