Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Dubuque, Iowa, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. / Credit: Farragutful, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
CNA Staff, Nov 5, 2025 / 12:50 pm (CNA).
The Archdiocese of Dubuque, Iowa, is in the midst of a restructuring plan called the “Journey in Faith” initiative that will result in parish mergers and other major changes due to declining church attendance, financial pressures, and priest shortages.
At a homily he gave at the beginning of September, Archbishop Thomas Zinkula cited “dramatic shifts in population, culture, and finances within our archdiocese. We are using only 37% of our church capacities each weekend. Since 2006, Mass attendance is down 46% throughout the archdiocese.”
According to archdiocesan data, Catholic marriages have declined 57% and infant baptisms are down 22% since 2006. The only liturgical celebration that has increased is Catholic funerals, up 3% in the same time period.
Regarding the priest shortage, there is currently only one priest for every two parishes in the northeastern Iowa archdiocese of about 182,000 Catholics, with 85 priests actively serving in the archdiocese. The number is expected to continue to decline.
Zinkula told CNA on Nov. 5 that he understands that it is upsetting to parishioners to see, in the initial models of the initiative, their parishes without weekend Masses.
He said, however, that the cancellation of Masses “is not the same as ‘closing’ a church, as those churches may still be used for other liturgical celebrations, such as funerals, weddings, and weekday Masses. They also can continue to serve as hubs for charitable outreach in the community and offer opportunities to grow in faith.”
“We are exploring models for grouping archdiocesan parishes into ‘pastorates,’” Zinkula continued, “and eventually merging each pastorate into a single parish, which typically utilizes multiple churches for weekend Masses. These models focus on strengthening relationships so we can share human and material resources.”
In a video message issued Sept. 2, Zinkula told the faithful: “I desperately want and need to hear from you.”
As part of the restructuring initiative’s three-month public input process, in September the Archdiocese of Dubuque held 34 regional informational sessions for parishioners to learn more about the process. Those meetings preceded the next step, local parish input sessions, that began in October and have allowed parishioners to provide verbal feedback through Nov. 21 as well as written feedback via the initiative’s website.
The archbishop explained to CNA that “the models currently under review are not decisions. They are starting points — designed to elicit reactions and perspectives. They have certainly done so, which is a good thing! I’m glad there is so much passion. It would greatly concern me if there was widespread apathy on this important topic.”
Mark Tillman, a parishioner in Dubuque, told KWWL this week that he’s concerned “these draconian cuts to the rural parishes will be morally and spiritually devastating to our parishes and our communities will suffer.”
Tillman said his parish and the ones around it are financially stable. “It would rip my soul out to have my parish close,” Tillman said. “I’ve developed relationships. I have friends. I’ve worked with the parish. I go to confession. I do everything the church has asked me to do, and they want to take it away for me. I’m sorry.”
Zinkula said in a statement in September that he knows how “difficult” it is to lose one’s parish: “My own home parish was once merged into a neighboring parish, so I understand the sense of loss this can bring. And yet, I believe with all my heart that this journey is worth it — because it can reenergize our parishes, draw back our children and grandchildren, and strengthen our mission to proclaim the Gospel.”
