What is “Journey in Faith”?
“Journey in Faith” is the Archdiocese of Dubuque’s pastoral planning initiative designed to renew discipleship, strengthen our Catholic communities, and align parish structures to better fulfill the mission of the Church.

This process calls us to trust in the Holy Spirit, transform our local Church, and together move from maintenance to mission.

What is a synodal process?
The synodal process is a process where the faithful, including parishioners, lay leaders, priests and the archbishop, are invited to pray, dialogue, listen to one another, and discern together how the Holy Spirit is leading the Church to better fulfill its mission in the modern world. We are using the synodal process to guide our Journey in Faith initiative. 

What are the goals of the pastoral planning process?

• Renew discipleship by forming joyful missionary disciples

• Strengthen parish vibrancy through collaboration and sustainability

• Support our priests in health, holiness, and mission

• Create a sustainable organization of parishes into pastorate groupings

What values guide this process?

The initiative is rooted in our shared values:

• Prayer – Deepening our relationship with God

• Worship – Vibrant sacramental life and love for God

• Charity – Serving others like Christ

• Lifelong Learning – Continuing our faith formation

Who will lead these efforts?
The archdiocese is leading these efforts and has partnered with Catholic Leadership Institute (CLI) to help coordinate our processes for gathering feedback. CLI has assisted many other dioceses in these types of efforts.  All final decisions, however, will be made by Archbishop Zinkula after he has reviewed all feedback and considered recommendations from various advisory bodies. 

How will decisions be made?
The Archdiocese will propose models for groupings of parishes (called pastorates) and gather parishioner feedback. Final decisions will be made in alignment with:

• Church law (canon law)

• Geography, travel times, and demographics

• Parish vitality and financial viability

• Clergy availability and gifts

Pastors, parish leadership and parishioners will have an active role in shaping the recommendations. The Archbishop will make final decisions after extensive consultation and collaboration.


Has the Archbishop already made up his mind?
No. The Archbishop created this synodal process specifically so we can gather feedback and share ideas as a Catholic, archdiocesan family. The process includes many opportunities for consultation and feedback.There is also a feedback form on our Journey in Faith website.

The Core Team created the models as a starting point for feedback from the priests and faithful. Considerations thus far also include statistical data over two decades for each parish, and data involving the number of priests we have now and will have over the next several years.

After receiving feedback, the Core Team will develop a new set of models to be presented to the Archbishop’s advisory bodies. After receiving additional feedback from those groups, the Archbishop will discern the needs and resources of the parishes, priests, and the Archdiocese of Dubuque.

Will the final result be one of the three models you are presenting?
Not necessarily. The three models were created to give priests and parishioners a starting point to talk about what works and what doesn’t work when considering the collaboration of parishes. The Core Team will use feedback from the Disciple Maker Index, the statistical analysis, parish meetings and other input to create a suggested model for feedback from the Planning Commission to ultimately send to the Archbishop for his discernment.

What are the primary considerations when creating vibrant and sustainable pastorates for the next 25+ years?

• Evangelization

  • Celebrate inspiring liturgies and sacraments in full churches

  • Engage parishioners in rich and meaningful formation

  • Foster disciples who serve and are sent on mission

• Leadership Formation

  • Nurture God-given gifts 

  • Cultivate lay leadership

  • Amplify clergy strengths through viable pastoral assignments

• Pastoral Planning

  • Create sustainable pastorates

  • Align resources to mission

  • Bolster vibrancy through enhanced collaboration

What is the role of Journey in Faith Parish Team Members?
Journey in Faith Team Members are parishioners selected by the pastor to help facilitate the feedback process at the parish. Their role is to impartially record and submit the feedback of parishioners at their parish meetings to the Journey in Faith Core Team. They are advocates for parishioners to be engaged in the process.  Local Journey in Faith Team Members are not decision makers in this process.  All decisions will ultimately be made by Archbishop Zinkula.

What other dioceses are doing this kind of pastoral planning work?
With the ever-changing landscape of the Catholic Church, dioceses throughout the country are undergoing similar pastoral planning processes.  While each (arch)diocese approaches the process differently, Archbishop Zinkula and the Core Team—with support from the Catholic Leadership Institute (CLI)—have sought to learn from the successes and challenges experienced in these other dioceses.  While the number of dioceses that have engaged in pastoral planning increases each year, Peoria, St. Louis, Columbus, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati as well as Omaha, Madison, and Sioux City were consulted to learn of best practices and challenges experienced by others.

When will we be discussing all of the details of how the new Pastorates will work together?
In the Fall of 2025, the focus of Journey in Faith is “who”—which parishes will be grouped together in the future and where weekend Masses will be held. In the Spring of 2026, we will focus on planning for new Mass schedules and locations for the six-month interim Mass schedule from July 15 to January 15th. Between August and November of 2026, there will be another set of regional and local sessions centered on “how” the new pastorates will more fully collaborate in the future. Discussions about planning for future needs of ministry, staffing, finances, and timing of mergers will be a focus of this phase.

How will this impact my parish?
Every parish in the Archdiocese will be grouped with other parishes to create a “Pastorate.”  Each Pastorate will have one pastor and usually one or more other priests called “Parochial Vicars” (previously called Associate Pastors). This process will also involve:

• Enhanced collaboration with nearby parishes for operations and ministries

• Sharing clergy and parish staff 

• Adjustments to Mass times and/or locations

• Consideration of future mergers of parishes within the newly formed pastorates

All parishioners are asked to participate in prayer, discernment, and dialogue.

Will parishes be closing?
No final decisions have been made.  The focus of "Journey in Faith" during 2025-26 is about organizing groups of parishes into pastorates with a designated number of Masses to be held at specific locations.  Due to the goal of having fuller Masses with more vibrant liturgies, not all parishes will be able to have weekend Masses.  Not having weekend Masses is not the same as "closing" a parish, as those parish churches may still be used for other liturgical celebrations, such as funerals, weddings, and other special occasions.   Since all parishes within a pastorate will be working very collaboratively together, there is an expectation that over time all parishes within a pastorate will ultimately "merge" into one parish. 

Will any churches close as part of the process?
At this stage of the process, we are focused on determining which parishes can work best together based on data analysis and feedback from priests and parishioners. However, as new pastorates begin to merge into single parishes during 2027 and beyond, local leadership at the newly formed parishes will need to continually assess their worship and ministry space needs along with their financial ability to support and maintain multiple buildings. 

What will happen to church buildings?
No final decisions have been made.  As newly formed pastorates begin to merge into single parishes during 2027 and beyond, local leadership at the newly formed parishes will need to continually assess their worship and ministry space needs along with their financial ability to support and maintain multiple buildings.

What will a “vibrant and sustainable” parish look like?
A vibrant and sustainable parish will:

• Celebrate inspiring liturgies in full churches

• Offer strong faith formation for all ages

• Foster community and outreach

• Support the health and holiness of priests

• Be financially and operationally sustainable

Why can’t we keep all the churches open and just have priests celebrate Mass at the smaller churches once or twice a month?
According to canon law, churches are more than gathering spaces for an occasional Mass —they are sacred places meant to have a regular, stable liturgical life. They are meant to be a place of community. A building that has Mass only once every several weeks does not meet that definition.

In addition, priests are responsible not only for celebrating Mass but also for ministries such as charity, worship, faith formation, parish administration, and spiritual care. Spreading them too thin undermines their quality of ministry and spiritual leadership.

Why can’t we rotate Masses among churches, like having one weekend Mass at Parish A and then the next weekend Mass at Parish B?
This approach is already occurring at nearly 20% of our parishes, where Masses are rotated on a bi-weekly or other rotation. These rotations focused on building utilization aren’t necessarily effective in building long-term consistent relationships. Mass rotations can deplete necessary human and financial resources to keep the church buildings operating to the detriment of more important mission-driven endeavors.  We want parishes to be thriving and focused on evangelization, leadership formation and pastoral planning in order for all of us, together, to fully live out the vision and mission of the Archdiocese of Dubuque.

What will be the impact of Journey in Faith on parishioner donations?
When people believe in the mission, see the value of the work being done, and understand the importance of stewardship in promoting their Catholic faith, they actually give more! Donors appreciate giving to organizations that have a well-defined strategic plan and mission-driven goals.

Won’t we lose a lot of people by going through this process?
Currently the archdiocese is losing more than 2% of Mass attendees per year by staying with the status quo. We must build on our strengths and also reinvigorate our ministries to make sure we have vibrant liturgies and engaging communities. Other dioceses that have done this kind of work report an average diocesan dip of 3-5% in the first year, which then levels off as participation begins to increase. The Archdiocese of Dubuque is conducting this process proactively, using a process of significant feedback and transparency, so we hope to have a minimal decline in participation. To do nothing, however, is not an option as we want to move from “managed decline” to mission. 

How will Journey in Faith support our priests?
By ultimately reducing the number of parishes each priest must serve, the new structure aims to:

• Allow more time for pastoral care and sacramental ministry as the faithful unfold their gifts in leadership 

• Build stronger relationships with parishioners

• Foster vocational discernment 

• Prevent burnout 

If priests will be celebrating fewer Masses, what else will they be doing?
The majority of our pastors currently serve more than one parish, which limits the amount of time and energy they can spend celebrating the other sacraments, caring for their parishioners and staff, helping us form our faith, teaching us to grow deeper in our relationship with Jesus and reaching out to those who have left the Church or who are not Catholic. We anticipate they will be able to spend more time and resources caring for people as the administration and governance of pastorates is streamlined and coordinated. Last but certainly not least, we hope it will give them a better work-life balance.

What is the benefit of having multiple priests serve in a single pastorate? Why do these models incorporate multiple priests in a pastorate?
The Archdiocese of Dubuque, like many (arch)dioceses across the country, is facing a shift in where parishioners live and a decline in the number of available priests. Assigning multiple priests to a single pastorate allows for coverage across a wider area, while still respecting each priest's workload and capacity. It also supports fraternity among priests and collaboration between priests, such that pastoral responsibilities like Masses, sacraments, funerals, and pastoral visits can be shared. This helps reduce burnout and allows each priest to contribute based on their strengths. 

How many Masses can a priest celebrate in one day?
Canon law stipulates that a priest is not permitted to celebrate or concelebrate the Eucharist more than once a day except in cases where the law permits him to do so. If there is a shortage of priests, the Archbishop can allow priests to celebrate twice a day for a just cause, or if pastoral necessity requires it, even three times on Sundays and holy days of obligation.

This limitation primarily exists to ensure the dignity and devotion with which the Eucharist is celebrated, and relatedly, to support the physical, emotional and spiritual health of a priest.

When a parish merges with another parish, what happens to the assets of each parish?
Church law mandates that money, assets and liabilities go to the parish where the people are assigned after their parish merges with another. It does not go to the Archdiocese of Dubuque. Donated funds previously designated for a restricted use will have those restrictions honored.

What if our church needs some immediate capital improvements or maintenance? Will the Archdiocese of Dubuque approve the work?
Because the Archbishop and Vicar General are part of the corporate board of each parish, their approval is required for any capital improvements or maintenance over $10,000. Each request will be looked at on a case by case basis, and will include consideration of the pastoral planning process.

I work in a parish office. Can we still hire people and create budgets if we don’t know the future of our parish?
We will know more when the Archbishop makes his decision public in spring 2026. Best practices would include conservative budgeting, hiring essential positions, and delaying hiring for newly created positions. You should continue with your parish plans, but carefully review whether your ministries, events and resources are truly focused on building a vibrant, sustainable parish and evangelization.

How can I get involved?
All parishioners will be invited to provide verbal and written feedback through a series of meetings and surveys.  No final decisions have been made. All feedback and ideas are important.  During the fall of 2025 the focus will be on “who”: which parishes will be grouped together in pastorates. During the fall of 2026, the focus will be on “how” the newly formed pastorate can promote evangelization and grow in vibrancy through enhanced collaboration. 

Each pastor will identify 3-6 parish leaders to serve as your parish’s “Journey in Faith” Parish Team.  The pastor and team will be trained by CLI. They will facilitate local parish sessions to gather your responses to proposals and compile your ideas about additional options for consideration. 

What can I do now?

• Pray for the Holy Spirit’s guidance

• Be open to change and trust in God’s providence

• Stay informed through parish communications

• Support your parish through service and stewardship

• Join a small group or faith formation opportunity

• Encourage and support your parish leaders

• Pray for our Archdiocese and clergy

Where can I learn more?
Talk to your pastor or local Journey in Faith Team members, check parish bulletins, and/or visit the Journey in Faith website at dbqjourneyinfaith.org for updates, timelines, and resources. 

How will I know my feedback was received?
We value your feedback and want to make sure we hear from as many people as we can. When you submit your feedback through dbqjourneyinfaith.org, you will receive an email response indicating the Journey in Faith Core Team has received it. Because of the volume of submissions we expect to receive, we will not be able to personally respond to all submissions. Be assured that your response will be read by the Journey in Faith Core Team and considered, with all the other feedback received and collected, as the Archbishop discerns the future of the Archdiocese of Dubuque.