Archdiocese of Detroit Restructuring
Our Parish Listening Sessions were Monday, May 11th and Wednesday, May 13th, 2026. If you could not attend, you may still review the models and participate in the online listening session survey posted on the Archdiocesan Restructuring website. This survey is for both those parishioners that attended and those who were unable to attend, so please prayerfully review the models, reflect, and submit your feedback.
To view the Pastorate Model Options for our Planning Area, fill out the Spring Listening Session Survey, along with viewing our parish workbook, listening session videos, and resources, please click the button below to go to the restructuring website.
Letter from Archbishop Weisenburger
June 21, 2026
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
We’ve reached another important milestone in our Archdiocesan Restructuring process. Over the last several weeks, we have completed over 400 parish listening sessions, hosted at every parish in the Archdiocese of Detroit. These listening sessions were opportunities for the Faithful to see the proposed models for pastorates in their planning area, and share valuable feedback on what might work, what needs additional refinement, and other insights into the local communities of each parish. These listening sessions were not a simple offering; rather, they were a high-level view of a deeply layered process. I am thankful to all of our parishes for hosting these events, as well as all those who had a part in making the sessions possible: our priests, deacons, parish staff, volunteers, Key Parish Leaders and Primary Points of Contact, our on-site technical contacts, onsite facilities contacts, scribes, volunteer facilitators, and of course—the participants!
I want you to know that, while parish listening sessions have been completed, there is still time and space for you to provide your feedback. You can visit the restructuring website at restructuring.aod.org to access your parish workbook and the information presented at your parish listening sessions, including the videos from your listening session, the proposed models for your planning area, and the post-listening session survey.
I encourage each of you to first and foremost find time to thoughtfully and prayerfully engage with these materials. Then, please share your feedback on the proposed models in the online survey. Your suggestions, insight, and recommendations are essential to this next phase of our restructuring. Every piece of feedback received will be read and taken into consideration. This survey will remain open until July 31st.
In August, further discernment and refinement will continue as we review and analyze all the data from the parish listening sessions, the online survey responses, and ongoing feedback from our priests. We expect to announce the new pastorates in April 2027, with implementation beginning July 1, 2027.
Brothers and sisters, I know this process has not been an easy one for many of you. I know, too, that as we discern the future of our archdiocese, difficult decisions must be made. But my hope remains in our shared vision for the future: vibrant faith communities, flourishing priests, and sustainable, mission-ready parishes. Join me in prayer during this spiritual moment, as we continue to walk this path together, and know that I’m praying for each of you.
Very sincerely yours in Christ Jesus,
Most Reverend Edward J. Weisenburger
Archbishop of Detroit
FAQs About Listening Sessions
(information from restructuring.aod.org)
What is a parish listening session?
Each parish in the Archdiocese of Detroit will hold two listening sessions open to the public in the spring of 2026. These listening sessions are intended to gather feedback from parishioners about potential pastorate models — or groupings of parishes led by a pastor — involving their parish. Feedback during these listening sessions will be shared with the Core Planning Team and with Archbishop Weisenburger for his discernment.
What happens during these sessions?
Each parish will be presented with several models. Each model will propose different groupings of parishes that form pastorates within that specified geographic area, also known as a planning area. After the presentation, a facilitator will moderate the discussion as members of the community are invited to share their feedback on the models presented. A member of the parish community, identified by the pastor, will act as the scribe for the listening session and record the feedback to ensure that it is accurately captured and submitted.
How should I prepare for my parish listening session?
First, pray: The most important thing we can all be doing as we approach this time of listening in our parishes, is to pray. You can find a number of prayer opportunities on the Restructuring website or commit to including the process and everyone involved in your personal prayer time. Many parishes will host opportunities for communal prayer in the time leading up to your listening sessions, and we encourage you to join your faith communities to pray together when you are able.
Next, read your Parish Workbook: Parish Workbooks will be posted to the Restructuring website beginning March 4, 2026. These workbooks provide historical information, demographics, data and trends about each parish in the Archdiocese of Detroit for the purpose of providing transparency and informing the archdiocesan restructuring process. The data in these workbooks has been reviewed and validated by the priests at each parish. Understanding this information helps each of us enter this time of discernment with a deeper sense of awareness around the need for restructuring.
Finally, reflect: Take time to name your feelings about restructuring. Are you feeling anxious? Fearful? Angry? Excited? Take these feelings to prayer, and ask the Lord to open your heart to be receptive to where he is leading your parish and the entire Archdiocese of Detroit, so you can commit to arriving at your parish listening session in a spirit of Docility to the Holy Spirit. While this process is difficult and may have us feeling any number of negative emotions, we can ask the Lord to help us arrive with open hearts and open minds, and to place our trust in the Holy Spirit to guide the process.
Where did the data in my parish workbook come from?
The information in each parish workbook has been reviewed by the priests at each parish for accuracy. Each parish was also offered the opportunity to add contextual information to aid in understanding the data presented as it relates to parish history and other factors of influence.
Some of the information in your parish workbook may be surprising or concerning to you. It’s important to remember that this process is not reliant entirely on data alone. Many factors were considered by the priests who developed the models you’ll see, including cultural considerations, different geographical areas, the gifts or charisms of each parish community.
How many listening sessions should I attend?
Everyone is encouraged to attend one session at their parish. Two options will be offered at each parish for convenience. Everyone in the archdiocese has the opportunity to attend one listening session at their parish and the chance to fill out the online survey, if they choose. Some people may choose to only do one option — attend the listening session or fill out the online survey — or neither, but that is up to them.
Should I attend another parish’s listening sessions, especially if our parishes work together? What if my parish works closely with a parish in another planning area?
It is not necessary to attend a session at another parish, even if the parishes are closely connected. If someone has feedback about another parish, whether they are in the given planning area or not, that can be shared at the listening session they attend.
For example, if a parishioner wanted to give feedback that Parish A is not in their planning area even though the two parishes work closely together, that feedback can be given at the Parish B listening sessions as well as via the online follow-up survey.
What if I can’t attend? Is there a virtual option?
There is no virtual option for attending the listening sessions; however, there will still be time to review the models and share your feedback. Once all of the parishes in your planning area have completed their listening sessions, an online survey will be made available on the Restructuring website where all members of the lay faithful can review the models again and submit feedback, even if they were unable to attend a listening session in-person.
This survey will be sent to everyone who attends, and will also be shared by your parishes and available on the Restructuring website for everyone. So even if you attend the listening session, if you get home and realize you have more feedback to share, you will have the opportunity, within a few weeks of your listening session, to respond to the online survey.
What if we don’t have enough people attend our listening session? Will that impact future decisions in the restructuring process?
Attendance at each session will not be quantified. The number of people you have at your listening session does not impact how the models will be discerned in the future. If you have 4 people, 40 people, or 400 people, the purpose of the listening session remains the same: to give the people of God opportunities to see the proposed models, understand their context, and provide feedback. Your feedback is an important step in this process — not because any decisions will be made in these sessions — they won’t; but because your firsthand experience in your communities will help us in the discernment, refinement, and adaptation of the models to better serve you and your communities.
What kind of questions will the facilitators ask at these sessions?
Your facilitator is a local volunteer, who has given freely of their time and talents to serve the Church in Detroit. They will present the models for your parish and then ask you for your feedback on each model. They might ask things like: What do you like or dislike about this model? What works well? What is missing? What else might be needed to make this model better? Please remember that the facilitator’s role is not to defend or change any models presented at a Listening Session; they didn’t create the models you’re reviewing either. Their role is to provide space for everyone to share their feedback. Please be kind to them!
What kind of feedback can I give?
Every parish in the Archdiocese of Detroit will experience change in some way as a result of this process. The feedback we’re asking for now, is which of the proposed changes would better serve the people of God. What we shouldn’t do is come to these sessions ready to argue that nothing should change about the way our parishes are structured. The rationale behind the need for Archdiocesan Restructuring has been shared in a message from Archbishop Weisenburger, on the Restructuring website, and in the Parish Workbooks.
As a reminder, the models shown at the listening sessions are not final decisions. They are a starting point to begin conversations and solicit the input of the lay faithful to better inform Archbishop Weisenburger’s discernment process. To support this process, you can share feedback on what works or does not work in a given model, provide additional context about your community, or make note of collaboration points between parishes. Contextual notes about your parish have also been shared in the Parish Workbooks.
Where did these models come from?
The models shown at your parish listening sessions began with the priests of the Archdiocese of Detroit — men who know you, who celebrate the sacraments with you every week, and who walk with your families in moments of joy and sorrow. They see the pastoral strengths of your parish, but they also see the broader realities: the number of priests we have, how they are currently assigned, attendance trends, financial pressures, staffing needs, and the demands of sustaining parish life across our Archdiocese. In January, they came together for three days, and entered into a time of prayer and collective discernment to develop these “first drafts” using their lived experiences and firsthand understanding of your parishes to discern these potential pastorates. But this was just one step in the process. Now it’s up to you to hear these models and give us your honest feedback.
What happens to all the feedback from the parish listening sessions? How can I be sure that my feedback is taken into consideration?
Every comment shared through listening sessions, the online survey, and other avenues, will be read and prayerfully considered. From there, we will identify common themes and shared experiences from the people of the Archdiocese.
This listening is one important part of a broader discernment that also includes practical information such as Mass attendance, demographic trends, priest availability, and parish finances. Listening helps deepen understanding and guide wise pastoral judgment, but it is not a vote or a mandate; decisions about future parish structures and collaboration will be made through prayerful discernment by the Archbishop, informed by the full picture of parish life across the Archdiocese of Detroit.