SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Two historic South Bend churches are officially merging. St. Adalbert and St. Casimir will soon operate under one parish.
The churches have been sharing the same pastoral staff, school and programs for years.
The merger, approved by Bishop Kevin Rhoades of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, will take effect on July 1.
After the consolidation, both buildings will remain open. Sacraments, feast days, festivals and services will still be held in each church.
"Now that we've grown our Mexican community that has now become 95% of both churches, really sees this place as a single family and even our some of our Polish parishioners now see themselves as belonging to both families. We are one family. We're served by one pastoral team. It was time for us to come together," St. Adalbert and St. Casimir Father Felipe Campos said.
Now, what does this mean for the ongoing construction happening at the church? Father Campos says it'll continue as planned, with the team focused on the brick restoration part of the church.
"For most of our parishioners, they're not going to notice that change at all. You can still go to St. Casimir Church, you can go to St. Adalberts Church, and you will probably not even notice a difference. We've already been operating as one pastoral team, one group of priests, one catechism, one school. We've all done everything together so far," Father Campos said.
The Diocese says it's committed to preserving the cultural and historic roots of both churches, making sure longtime Mexican and Polish members can keep their traditions alive, while also creating space for the two cultures to come together as one.
They plan to honor their cultural heritages by keeping traditional celebrations like St. Casimir Day, St. Adalbert day and the annual Cinco de Mayo festival.
A special mass of Thanksgiving is also planned for early July to commemorate the merger.
"I'm so happy that our families are officially joining, but I know in my heart of hearts, we've already been one family, so I'm just filled with joy that we can formalize, legalize what for so long has been our lived experience these past 20 years," Father Campos said.