We extend our sincere thanks to Bishop Walsh for taking time to be with the communities of Lourdes and Vianney this past Monday evening for our community meeting at St. Joan of Arc School. With nearly 200 people in attendance, the Bishop clearly outlined the vision for the proposed union of our two parishes. He has now received the formal request from Father Rich and our parish leadership and is currently consulting with the Diocesan College of Consultors and the Presbyteral Council to gather their input. Following this process, it is anticipated that he will issue a formal decree around May 1 to unite our parishes as St. Joan of Arc Parish, with two campuses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What does this mean? While Lourdes and Vianney will come together as one parish community under a single name and shared leadership, both campuses will remain active, continuing to serve their local communities. We will combine our finances, parish councils, finance councils and begin bringing our staff and ministries together. This union is intended to strengthen our ministries, steward resources more effectively, and build a more vibrant and sustainable future for all parishioners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In other news, our aggressive mortgage reduction plan continues to move ahead of schedule. The St. Joan of Arc Foundation Board has approved our third $1 million principal payment this year. This $3 million in additional payments has reduced the interest on our loans by $8.8 million and shortened the mortgage term by nearly nine years. Our long-term plan calls for 14 more quarterly payments of $1 million to eliminate the original $22.5 million mortgage by August 2030. Thanks to this strong progress, the current balance has already been reduced to just over $19 million.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"