Catholic priestly order withdrawing from Lima, Bluffton

Yahoo

11-05-2025

May 10—LIMA — After nearly 200 years, a Roman Catholic clerical order will be cutting ties with the Lima area, according to a release by the Diocese of Toledo.
The Baltimore Province of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, also known as the Redemptorists, announced it is withdrawing from Lima's St. Gerard Catholic Church and St. Mary's Catholic Church in Bluffton, congregations that have had clergy from this order since 1833. The withdrawal will take effect June 30, 2026.
According to Father John Collins, the Provincial Superior for the Redemptorist Baltimore Province, the decision comes after a "process of review and our prayerful consideration of our apostolic commitments in these challenging times," he said in a statement.
"Given our loving regard and great appreciation for the wonderful people of St. Gerard's and St. Mary's, along with our experience of being so greatly blessed in our pastoral presence and care among them, this decision was not easy and was not made lightly," Collins said in the statement. "The reality of our aging clergy, along with a significant decline in vocations to Redemptorist religious life and priesthood, is one of several factors that have brought us to the humbling realization that we cannot continue to staff and serve all the apostolic commitments that we currently have in our pastoral care."
Collins emphasized in the statement the decision did not come out of any desire to leave the parishes, nor did it come at the behest of Bishop Daniel Thomas of the Diocese of Toledo.
"While we, as a diocesan family, are saddened by their pending departure, we understand the Redemptorists have been engaged in realistic and responsible planning for their future regarding maintaining, changing or drawing to completion current apostolic commitments," Thomas said in a statement. "The Redemptorists have repeatedly expressed gratitude to me for the support they have received from the Lima and Bluffton communities here in the Diocese of Toledo. They have also expressed their confidence that our working together in the upcoming transition year will provide the people of God with stability and continued pastoral care."
Thomas also said in the release that pastoral care will be offered for the affected congregations the weekend of May 17 and 18 with a personal visit from Collins.
The Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer was founded in 1732 in Naples, Italy, by Alphonsus Liguori, a priest who emphasized service to the poor and abandoned, according to the order's website. The order currently has approxmiately 4,500 members serving in 82 countries, according to its website.
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