Bishop Douglas J. Lucia, who oversees the seven-county Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse, has taken on a new job: parish priest for three Baldwinsville-area churches.
Lucia, 62, will be pastor of St. Augustine Church, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church and St. Mary of the Assumption Church, the bishop announced in a letter to the members of those churches.
“Well, today, I am able to share the news that I will be your new pastor,” he wrote. “Although I was called to be the Bishop of the Diocese of Syracuse six years ago, it has always been with the hope of continuing to be a parish priest and I guess God has taken me at my word.”
Lucia noted in his letter to parishioners that the crucial component of all parishes is a priest.
“Without the priest, there is no Mass; and without the Mass there is no Eucharist, no food for the journey,” Lucia said.
The move comes as dioceses across the country contend with priest shortages.
The number of priests in the United States has dropped by more than 43% since 1965 — from 59,426 to 33,589 in 2024, according to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University.
The shortage has led many dioceses to consolidate parishes. In 1965, there were 17,763 parishes nationwide; by 2024, that number had dropped to 16,267 — an 8% decline, CARA reports.
While it has become more common for parishes to share priests, it is unusual for a bishop to be in that role, according to Matthew Loveland, an associate professor of sociology at Le Moyne College.
“It’s not something I’ve seen before,” he said.
Loveland, who studied a wave of parish closures around the Great Recession in the Syracuse area, said he wasn’t sure whether the arrangement was sustainable for the bishop or the parishes.
“If I belonged to any of those three parishes, I’d start to say, ‘OK, well how much longer until we’re merged?’” he said. “I would have to imagine that folks in those parishes are worried today.”
Lucia said in his letter that he will serve as pastor alongside the Rev. Benjamin Schrantz, who will remain as parochial vicar, and the Rev. Thomas Ryan, who will provide sacramental assistance.
Lucia said he will take into account the age, health, spiritual and emotional well-being of their priests as he transitions into his new role.
“The Diocese must allow for balanced lifestyles for clergy and parish staffs, as well as the ability to serve Christ’s faithful both in our urban and rural settings,” Lucia said.
The bishop announced a new schedule of services for the three churches.
Lucia, a native of Plattsburgh, was ordained as a priest in 1989 and has served in various pastoral and administrative roles across northern New York and Canada.
Doing double duty of diocese work and serving as a parish priest is not new to Lucia.
In June 2006, while he was chancellor and episcopal vicar for the Ogdensburg diocese, he also worked as pastor of St. John the Evangelist Church in Morristown and St. Peter’s Church in Hammond with its mission of St. Patrick’s Church in Rossie.
Pope Francis appointed Lucia as the 11th bishop of the Syracuse diocese on June 4, 2019. He leads a diocese of nearly 200,000 Catholics.