Two more Catholic parishes in St. Louis archdiocese lose their appeals to stay open

SHREWSBURY — The decision to close two Catholic parishes in the Archdiocese of St. Louis will stand after a Vatican court rejected appeals from parishioners, church leaders said Thursday. The court upheld Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski’s decrees from May 2023 to close St. Francis of Assisi parish in Franklin County and St. Catherine of Alexandria parish in Ste. Genevieve County. St. Clare in St. Clair will absorb the finances and geographic territory of St. Francis, and St. Joseph in Farmington will take over St. Catherine under the “All Things New” downsizing...