Joliet’s St. Joseph Church will remain a stand-alone church

Diocese of Joliet Bishop Ronald Hicks will not appeal the Vatican’s decision to keep St. Joseph Church in Joliet an independent parish.

Hicks’ decision was announced in St. Joseph’s bulletin for Oct. 20, which is posted on the St. Joseph website.

On Aug. 20, the Dicastery for the Clergy in Rome revoked the decree that Hicks issued Jan. 25 to merge St. Joseph with three other Joliet parishes: St. Mary Magdalene, St. Anthony and St. Bernard, according to the bulletin.

St. Mary Magdalene was to become the lead church under the new diocesan arrangement.

[ Joliet’s St. Joseph Church to remain independent after Vatican appeal ]

This revocation of the decree means all four churches – St. Mary Magdalene, St. Bernard, St. Anthony and St. Joseph – were returned to stand-alone parishes, according to the bulletin.

“Bishop Hicks was given an option to file an appeal to a higher court in the Vatican; however, he has decided to honor the decision of the Dicastery for Clergy,” according to the bulletin.

Nevertheless, Hicks wishes to move forward with the recommendation of the Targeted Restructuring Committee and merge St. Mary Magdalene, St. Bernard and St. Anthony, according to the bulletin.

To that end, a meeting to explain the details of the Dicastery’s decision will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 22 in the St. Mary Magdalene gymnasium.

The presentation will include parish data similar to last fall’s data, along with “possible scenarios for these three parishes,” according to the bulletin. Questions and concerns also will be addressed, according to the bulletin.

All parishioners of St. Mary Magdalene, St. Bernard and St. Anthony are invited to attend the meeting.

The Diocese of Joliet announced the consolidation in January, which closed four churches in Joliet – St. Anthony, St. Bernard, St. Jude and Sacred Heart – as well as St. Anne in Crest Hill.