St. John Paul II Parish Formation History

In 2004, Bishop Richard Malone created an Evangelization Task Force to assess the parishes in the Diocese of Portland on how we can work collaboratively to tell anew the story of Jesus Christ, our risen Lord and Savior. The Evangelization Task Force made a recommendation to Bishop Richard J. Malone in the document entitled, “Telling Anew the Story of Jesus,” which focuses on strategies to foster this spirit of evangelization among the Catholic people in Maine. Perhaps one of the reasons why the Holy Spirit has led us into this time of shifting demographics, uncertain economics, and insufficient number of priests, is to rediscover and reclaim our true identity and calling as Catholic Christians to boldly proclaim Christ to the world.

The Evangelization Committee recommended to Bishop Malone that there be 27 clusters of parishes in the diocese.  Each cluster was assigned 1 pastor and in many cases one other priest to serve as a parochial vicar. In some cases, a large cluster has 3 priests assigned. Each cluster of parishes have been challenged to work together to design a plan of organization and administration. Several cluster models were suggested.

In 2005, a committee of representatives from each of the four parishes in Cluster 22 was formed to create a plan of organization and administration for our cluster. A recommendation to keep the four parishes as four separate parishes and other organizational and administrative decisions about Sunday liturgies, collaborative ministries, and cluster-wide staff was drafted and sent to Bishop Malone on June 19, 2006.

The Bishop accepted our plan, but asked the Cluster Committee to take another look at the possibility for merging the two parishes in South Portland – Holy Cross and St. John the Evangelist.  One of the recommendations made by the Cluster Committee was to form a Cluster Pastoral Council made up of 3 representatives from each of the four parishes, which was created and convened in September 2007. 

This council met and developed long-range goals for the cluster. Several collaborative ministries were established in our cluster (such as, the marriage preparation team, the baptism team, and the adult faith formation offerings including the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults and Disciples in Mission). 

In September 2013, St. John the Evangelist celebrated its last Mass and was officially merged with Holy Cross Church. Members of the congregation at St. John the Evangelist dispersed to the other three parishes in our cluster. Liturgical elements were distributed among the parishes in our cluster, and the pews were donated to St. Gregory's in Gray, ME. 

In July 2018, a cluster pastoral and business office was formed at St. Maximilian Kolbe Church. 

Effective July 1, 2020, the parishes of St. Bartholomew, St. John and Holy Cross and St. Maximilian Kolbe have united as St. John Paul II Parish with the following churches: Holy Cross Church,  St. Bartholomew Church and St. Maximilian Kolbe Church.