Bishop Hicks Will Not Appeal And St. Joseph Will Remain Stand Alone Church

It’s official, Joliet Diocese Bishop Ronald Hicks will not appeal a decision by Rome to keep St. Joseph Church a stand alone church. The announcement will appear in the church bulletin this weekend. It was in August of this year, that the Dicastery for Clergy in Rome revoked the decree issued by Bishop Ronald Hicks on January 25th of this year. The revocation of the decree returns the parishes of St. Mary Magdalene, St. Bernard, St. Anthony and St. Joseph to their previous status as stand-alone parishes. Bishop Hicks was given the option to file an appeal which he declined.

But Bishop Hicks wishes to move forward with the merger or amalgamation of the other three parishes. As such a meeting will take place at St. Mary Magdalene gymnasium on October 22nd from 6 to 8pm to decide the fate of three other churches according to the bulletin. All parishioners of St. Mary Magdalene, St. Bernard and St. Anthony are invited to attend the meeting.