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Thus, our parishes by nature are constantly looking beyond themselves to discover who needs the saving message of Christ. And certain groups of people are always in view:

- Our children and youth. From a natural point of view, the Church that neglects its children forfeits the future. More importantly, from a supernatural perspective, we acknowledge that the Faith we know and cherish is planted in baptism and nurtured through the normative years of childhood. Thus, our commitment to our child care, our excellent Catholic grade schools, our programs of religious education, our social and athletic initiatives, our high schools, confirmation catechesis, and youth ministry all remain a high priority in all strategic pastoral planning. Nor can we forget our young adults, who often feel "without a home" from their college years until they themselves marry or "settle down."

- Jesus had special solicitude for those "on the side of the road," those hurting and in need, and so do our parishes:
  • the sick, who always need prayer, care, and encouragement;
  • the elderly and homebound, who have "fought the fight" and now look to the parish for the "Bread of Life" and the company and helping hands of friends;
  • the unborn, those babies whose life is so sacred and fragile;
  • the poor, who actually, in our tradition, personify the hungry, thirsty, naked, cold, homeless, imprisoned Christ;
  • the "unchurched" among us, who are "spiritually poor" in that they know not of Jesus or His saving message;
  • the members of our household of faith who, because of scandal, confusion, a complaint, a past hurt, or anger at the Church, have left to join another one;
  • those in our society hurting, alienated, or marginalized in any way, who look to the Church for healing, acceptance, and understanding.
Our "servant-Church," vibrant in our parishes, warmly welcomes and embraces all, so a corollary of this third principle is that a parish is to be a spiritual home for its people. This will be an urgent challenge for us, because, in our planning, we admit that the trend is, by necessity, toward "mega-parishes," with large memberships, and huge churches. We cannot allow our parishes to become impersonal assembly lines, because our people look to them as a spiritual home where they are recognized, known, welcomed, and respected. Our parishes are beloved anchors in our neighborhoods and communities.
The Average Parish Today




Statistics in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee as of December 31, 2002:
  • The average parish has one priest.
  • The average parish has 933 registered households (2,451 registered parishioners), with a weekend Mass attendance of 996 (41%) at three Masses. However, the median is 839 registered households (1,920 registered parishioners) per parish.
  • The average parish church's seating capacity is 566.
  • There are 121 elementary grade schools. They are connected with 54% of the parishes.
  • An average parish in our archdiocese annually has 40 infant Baptisms, 41 First Eucharists, 30 youth and adult Confirmations, 13 marriages and 28 funerals.



Finally, a fourth principle that will guide our pastoral planning is that it must be done patiently, prudently, prayerfully, with the widest consultation possible. We are not "in crisis." We have a strong foundation and a future full of hope. So, we do not act impetuously. People have strong feelings about their parishes and schools, and we owe them a respectful hearing. People get threatened and upset if the independent existence of their parish is in question - and I'm glad they do, because that shows that they love it and are proud of it. From past experience, we know that plans of cooperation among parishes and schools work best when the process leading to it was characterized by trust, listening, extensive dialogue, constant communication, and respect for all sides.