Effective July 1, parishioners of St. Boniface in Minneapolis will continue to attend Mass and receive sacraments at the church, even as parish assets are transferred to another owner.
The St. Boniface parish corporation will be suppressed and all parish assets, such as the church building and land, will be transferred to the nearby St. Maron of the Maronite Catholic Church in Minneapolis — a parish that celebrates liturgies in the Maronite Rite, which has its roots in Lebanon. The Maronite Church is Catholic and in union with the Holy Father; it operates under its own set of laws and liturgical rubrics.
St. Maron will continue to provide limited sacramental ministry to St. Boniface parishioners for at least one year and beyond that time if it continues to be possible to maintain and safely use the church. The priests of St. Maron parish have bi-ritual faculties allowing them to offer Mass and the sacraments in the Latin and Maronite Catholic rites.
Father Michael Tix, vicar general for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, said the arrangement is a creative solution that doesn’t involve selling the property — a typical solution for the closure of a parish.
“It is a blessing that this beautiful church building will belong to another Catholic entity, and that the remaining funds of the parish will go to support the continued use of the building,” said Father Joseph Bambenek, associate director of the archdiocesan Office for the Renewal of Structures. “It’s intended to be a win-win for the current parishioners of St. Boniface and St. Maron.”
The pastor of St. Maron, Chorbishop Sharbel Maroun, will establish a regular schedule of Masses in the Latin rite with at least one Mass each weekend, under the arrangement reached between the archdiocese and the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles, which oversees St. Maron much as the archdiocese oversees its parishes, Father Tix said.
In addition to Mass, St. Boniface’s church building can be used for funerals, marriages and baptisms for those already registered with the parish, and their immediate family, at the time of the suppression. Upon request, others can also use St. Boniface’s church building.
Father Tix said St. Boniface faces a changing neighborhood and demographics “that necessitate change in the parish and how it functions.”
Determining the best action to take has been considered for quite some time, he said, with many conversations involving St. Boniface’s parochial administrator, Father David Ostrowski, parish trustees, the archdiocese’s Presbyteral Council, the Archdiocesan Corporate Board and Finance Council and Archbishop Bernard Hebda.
“The nice outcome of this is it leaves opportunity for people to continue coming to St. Boniface for at least the immediate term,” Father Tix said.
On July 11, Archbishop Bernard Hebda will preside at a 4 p.m. Mass at St. Boniface to recognize the changes. In a letter to St. Boniface parishioners, Chorbishop Maroun wrote that weekly Mass will be held every Saturday at 4 p.m. and weekday Mass will be celebrated Thursday mornings at a yet-unspecified time.
“I urge all of you to become more involved by using your time, talents, and treasures to support your home parish of Saint Boniface,” Chorbishop Maroun wrote in the letter. “I assure you of my sincere commitment to serve you with dedication, humility, and love. I look forward to getting to know you as we continue to grow together in faith. We are here to serve you and to accompany you with prayer, care, and pastoral support.”
Father Ostrowski will no longer be the parochial administrator of the parish at the end of the day June 30. St. Boniface sacramental records will be received by Our Lady of Lourdes in Minneapolis.
As the parish is suppressed, two representatives from St. Boniface will be chosen by parishioners to consult with St. Maron’s leadership semi-annually regarding the agreement, dedicated funds and sacramental needs of former St. Boniface parishioners, according to official Church documents.
In a letter to parishioners, Father Tix wrote, “As readily expressed at the all-parish meeting, this news is hard to hear and feels much like a death in the family, but many also expressed this as the understandable outcome, given factors ranging from changing demographics and the same kind of active engagement in parish life that was seen in the past as the lifeblood for St. Boniface’s 168 year history.”
