REDEMPTORISTS TO TRANSFER
ST. ALPHONSUS PARISH TO DIOCESE OF GRAND RAPIDS

The Redemptorist missionaries of the Denver Province will transfer the pastoral care of St. Alphonsus Parish to the Diocese of Grand Rapids in July of 2023. Located on the northeast side of Grand Rapids at 224 Carrier St. NE, St. Alphonsus Parish was founded by the Redemptorists in 1888 and has been exclusively staffed by the Congregation since that time. St. Alphonsus Parish will remain open and be staffed by a diocesan priest, yet to be named.

“We are grateful for the many Redemptorist vocations that were nurtured here, and for the tremendous love and support of this parish family for the past 134 years,” said Very Rev. Stephen Rehrauer, C.Ss.R., provincial superior of the Denver Province. “An aging membership and a shortage of new vocations require us to continually reassess how we can best respond to meet the needs of the poor and abandoned. As part of a major worldwide restructuring of the entire Congregation, the Denver Province is merging with other Redemptorist Provinces in North America and Mexico. Leadership has discerned a call to focus more specifically on evangelical outreach to young adults, immigrants, and those who do not participate in a church.

“I am grateful to the Redemptorists for the pastoral care they have provided to the faithful for more than a century. We have been blessed by their presence and the many outreach ministries they have initiated and sustained through the parish. They have shown West Michigan how to live the Gospel in both word and deed,” said Most Reverend David J. Walkowiak, bishop of Grand Rapids.

Allowing almost an entire year for the change in leadership will ensure an orderly transition, and will enable the parish to continue its thriving outreach programs.

“We will work diligently with Bishop Walkowiak to assure a smooth transition, and are confident that the spirit of St. Alphonsus Parish that we have nourished and sustained these many years will continue to flourish under new leadership. We are grateful to have served with a faith community so committed to loving and serving the People of God,” Fr. Rehrauer said.

The Redemptorists are a religious congregation of Catholic priests and Brothers founded in 1732 by St. Alphonsus Liguori in Naples, Italy. Approximately 4,200 Redemptorists are currently working for the poor and most abandoned in nearly every part of the world. More than 130 Redemptorist priests, Brothers and students represent the Denver Province in the United States.