“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.

We face several significant challenges:

• A growing secular culture and declining sacramental participation, which includes lower Mass attendance and fewer baptisms, Catholic marriages, and religious vocations

• Fewer priests to serve our 160 parishes

• The need to steward resources, both human and financial, more effectively

We must address these concerns to continue sharing the Gospel and to support a vibrant Catholic presence in Northeast Iowa for generations to come.

• 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

• 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

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

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. 

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. 

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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

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 

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.

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. 

• 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

Talk to your pastor or local Journey in Faith Team members, check parish bulletins, and/or visit the Journey in Faith website at dbqjourneyinfaith.com for updates, timelines, and resources.