Of the three houses I visited — one was no more, but
has been replaced by a gas station! Of the three churches and
schools I visited — two parishes (St. Agnes and St. Vincent de
Paul) were closed and the third, St. Thomas Aquinas, has been
clustered with two other parishes and renamed the Emmaus
Cluster; all three schools were closed (St. Agnes, St. Vincent de
Paul and St. Thomas Aquinas). So, it was an interesting visit,
although a little sad to see parishes suppressed. I remember very
little about those parishes since I was so very young when attending
them and yet I felt a tinge of sadness that places where I
worshipped and received my First Communion were no longer
there. I can only imagine the heartache that many families feel
when their local parish is shut down — a parish where families
celebrated Baptisms, First Communions, Confirmations, Weddings
and Funerals. The main reason that most of these parishes
were closed is the change of the neighborhood; some had been
ethnic parishes (Irish, Polish, German etc.); others changed from
residential neighborhoods to commercial. The bottom line was
that there simply were not enough people nor finances to keep
the parish running.

I think of that situation and realize what a different diocese
we have: many new parishes being built: St. John Neumann
in North Las Vegas, St. Francis of Assisi in Henderson, St. Anthony
of Padua in the northwest and, of course, Holy Spirit in
the southwest. And, these churches have to be built to seat anywhere
from 1,200 to 2,000 persons: “mega”-churches. And, if
there were more clergy and more money available, even more
parishes would be started in this still-growing diocese. Let us
thank God for our blessings!

It’s good to be back home!