On August 11, 2023 the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh will celebrate its 180th anniversary. Bishop David Zubik will mark this anniversary on August 13 at the Manifesting the Kingdom Awards in Saint Paul Cathedral, where he will honor current laity and clergy for exceptional service to the Diocese of Pittsburgh. The Mass and award presentations will be livestreamed on the diocesan YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cMgpHpIiu0.
On this anniversary, Bishop Zubik is releasing a new pastoral letter about the future of the diocese. The Church Forward! will be mailed to the homes of all registered parishioners.
The Church Forward! gives perspective on the past, present and future of the diocese and asks all parishioners and clergy to find new ways to reach and inspire others with the love of Jesus. The pastoral letter will be posted on the diocesan website on August 11: https://diopitt.org/the-church-forward.
“For 180 years the Diocese of Pittsburgh has continually allowed the Holy Spirit to transform it as we sought new ways to bring Jesus to the people of Southwestern Pennsylvania,” Bishop Zubik said. “This letter calls on the Catholics of Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Greene, Lawrence and Washington Counties to follow in the footsteps of Saint John Neumann, Saint Katharine Drexel and many others who found creative ways to bring God’s love to our streets, workplaces and homes.”
All 61 parishes have begun pastoral planning to identify strengths and opportunities for their growth so as to engage more effectively with their members and their neighbors. To obtain information for planning, this past Lent every parishioner age 16 and up was invited to complete a survey about their parish.
In his letter, Bishop Zubik told all parishes to continue the “synodal” style of prayerful, group discernment that Pope Francis has called for as they consider how to answer Jesus’ call to spread His Good News. When the diocese and all the parishes held hundreds of listening sessions in 2022, three major themes emerged from the feedback:
1) a need for more engaging liturgies;
2) improving the welcome, especially to people who feel estranged from the Church;
3) better instruction in the faith for children and adults so they can better share the faith.
The Church Forward! addresses those themes and asks every parish to discern how it will respond.