SCRANTON – Four parishes in Lackawanna County officially entered into two new linkages this week after two of them said goodbye to their longtime leaders.
The Cathedral of Saint Peter in downtown Scranton and Immaculate Conception Parish in the city’s Hill Section came together in a new linkage on Tuesday, July 11, 2023. Father Jeffrey D. Tudgay, J.V., V.E., J.C.L., is now the pastor of both parish communities after the retirement of Father Pat McLaughlin.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish and Saints Anthony and Rocco Parish, both in Dunmore, also linked as of the same date. Father David Cappelloni, V.F., is now the pastor of both parishes after the retirement of Father John Doris.
The linkages were announced by the Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, earlier this year and have been established as part of the Diocese of Scranton’s Vision 2030 Pastoral Planning Process.
In a linkage, two (or more) parishes share the same pastor. Such parishes, while independent, will by necessity cooperate more closely than other parishes. Linked parishes can do many things cooperatively, such as programming and are encouraged to work toward combining Parish Pastoral Council meetings and establishing common committees where possible.
As both new linkages strive to be “mission-driven,” both have decided to implement new Mass schedules.
For the linkage of the Cathedral of Saint Peter and Immaculate Conception, Daily Masses will now be held at the Cathedral at 6:30 a.m. and 12:10 p.m. Daily Mass will be held at Immaculate Conception at 8 a.m. The 12:10 p.m. Daily Mass will continue to be broadcast live on Catholic Television and livestream on the Diocese of Scranton website and social media platforms.
The Saturday 4 p.m. Vigil Mass will now be held at Immaculate Conception Church and the Cathedral of Saint Peter will have a 5:30 p.m. Vigil Mass. Because of this change, the CTV broadcast of the Saturday Vigil Mass will now be live at 5:30 p.m. from the Cathedral.
Sunday Masses at the Cathedral will be held at 6:30 a.m., 10 a.m., 12:15 p.m. and 5 p.m. Immaculate Conception Parish will have its Sunday Mass at 10:30 a.m.
Similarly, the newly linked parishes in Dunmore began a new Mass schedule on Tuesday.
Daily Mass will be held at 8 a.m. at Saints Anthony and Rocco Parish and at noon at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church.
The Saturday 4 p.m. Vigil Mass will be held at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church and a 5:15 p.m. Vigil Mass will be held at Saints Anthony and Rocco Church.
Sunday Masses at Saints Anthony and Rocco Church will take place at 8:30 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. while a 10 a.m. Mass will be held at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church.
Additional information on the new linkages are available on each parish’s website.