The Erie Diocese Tuesday unveiled its parish restructuring plan, and it calls for the combining of several local parishes and the end of weekly Sunday Mass at some churches.
Under this preliminary plan, churches like St. Paul and St. Andrew would lose regular Sunday Masses, and churches like St. Joseph Bread of Life and St. Mark the Evangelist would merge into bigger parishes while retaining weekly masses.
It's all still a preliminary plan, but one thing is certain, as attendance drops and priests become scarce, changes are necessary.

"Unfortunately, people think the Diocese and Erie are the same way they were 20 years ago, when there were all these businesses and the population was larger," said Bishop Lawrence Persico. "It's not that way any more."

He pointed to declining attendance and the Covid-19 pandemic as contributing factors to the consolidation. Erie, he said, has 68 masses in a 10-radius. Other parts of the diocese have none. 

"For the smallest area, Erie County, compared to the rest of the diocese, they have the most priests and the most masses. Really, we don't need all those masses," he said. 

The full preliminary plan is below. It's important to note this is a preliminary plan. A final plan won't be adopted until 2024.