The Diocese of Oakland announced Wednesday it will close 12 parish sites and one pastoral center, citing declining attendance and fewer priests as key reasons. In a message to the Diocese of Oakland Tuesday, Bishop Michael Barber, SJ said he “determined it is necessary” to close 12 parish sit es and one pastoral center in the East Bay. He added that the diocese would also, “provide welcoming accommodation of all affected parishioners at another convenient location.” The locations slated for closure include: Mary Help of Christians, Oakland Our Lady of Guadalupe, Blacow Road, Fremont Our Lady of Lourdes, Oakland Sacred Heart, Oakland St. Albert the Great, Alameda St. Andrew Kim Korean Pastoral Center, Oakland St. Augustine, Oakland St. Barnabas, Alameda St. Paschal Baylon, Oakland St. Patrick, Oakland St. Rose of Lima, Crockett St. Stephen, Walnut Creek Transfiguration, Castro Valley Barber noted that for around 15 years, there have been trends of declining mass attendance, participation in the sacraments, Catholic school enrollment, and numbers of priests. “While many of our parishes were built to serve the Catholic Church of 1965, we now have far fewer priests and parishioners,” Barber said. “Not all parishes can afford to pay for a support staff to fully serve the parish and our missionary aspirations,” he continued. He also noted that since 2021, the diocese has been working on a restructuring of its parish sites to better suit the modern realities for parishes. The Oakland Diocese also filed for bankrupcy nearly three years ago, as it faced several hundreds of sex abuse claims. ...read more read less