A church in Brownsdale could merge with an Austin church and several other area churches could see changes if a draft of the Diocese of Winona’s Vision 2016 plan moves ahead.

Catholic parishes across southern Minnesota face changes after the release of the recommended draft plan for Vision 2016, a strategic pastoral plan for the Diocese of Winona that has been in development since late 2011.

Over the past two years, clergy and lay leaders across the Diocese of Winona have worked to develop the plan that addresses the changing demographics and the issue of a smaller number of priests available to serve the parishes of the Diocese. The plan could be finalized by spring of 2016.

Brownsdale’s Our Lady of Loretto’s Catholic church is among the 21 churches in the Diocese Winona tentatively set for oratory status, which means they will merge with larger parishes. Under the plan, the church would merge with Austin’s Queen of Angels.

Several of the county’s other Catholic churches are part of changed clusters — a group of parishes that retain individual assets, liabilities and worship services but share staff, ministries and resources.

“Pastoral planning is an ongoing effort in every Catholic diocese in the world,” said Bishop John M. Quinn in a recorded message. “Like any responsible organization, the Diocese continually assesses and evaluates the ways in which it meets the pastoral and sacramental needs of the people in our communities. The ultimate purpose is to ensure a strong and sustainable future for the local Church, which encompasses all of southern Minnesota.”

The diocese says the planning and changes are necessary in order to adapt to three critical and compounding factors: fewer priests in the diocese to serve the far-reaching 114 parishes; variations in sacramental participation trends; and demographic shifts of both growth and decline in areas of the diocese. These will require examination and adaptation of how to serve specific communities and the diocese.

“Nearly half of our parishes have received recommended organizational change as a result of the draft plan. These may include variations in how parishes are clustered, the residence of a pastor, or the merging of parishes,” said Monsignor Richard Colletti, vicar general and director of planning for the diocese, in a press release.

For 21 churches, converting to oratory status means the smaller churches will no longer have a Sunday mass, but could host Catholic weddings, funerals, and local prayer, until the local congregants can no longer maintain the facility and wish to close it altogether.

For more details on the plan, visit www.dow.org/vision2016.

Changes for local Churches

•Queen of Angels, Austin: New cluster to connect with Queen of Peace, Lyle; church absorbs Brownsdale’s Our Lady of Loretto

•Saint Augustine, Austin: No change

•Saint Edwards, Austin: No change

•Saint Columbanus, Blooming Prairie: New cluster with Dodge Center and Hayfield’s Sacred Heart; church to absorb Saint Mary in Geneva, which is set for oratory status

•Saint Finbarr Grand Meadow: No change

•Sacred Heart, Hayfield: New cluster with Blooming Prairie and Dodge Center.

•Saint Patrick, LeRoy: No change.

•Queen of Peace, Lyle: New cluster with Austin’s Queen of Angels.

•St. John, Johnsburg: New cluseter with Rose Creek and Adams.

•Saint Peter, Rose Creek: New cluster with Johnsburg and Adams.