St. Thomas to merge with Le Sueur parish

Archbishop John Nienstedt of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has announced a change in his order merging five area parishes with St. Wenceslaus Church in New Prague.

The Church of St. Thomas in St. Thomas, which was to have been merged with St. Wenceslaus and the building closed, will now merge with St. Anne's in Le Sueur following an appeal by the church's parish council. St. Thomas is closer geographically to Le Sueur than to New Prague. There is no word on whether the St. Thomas building will still close.

The four remaining parishes that will merge with St. Wenceslaus are St. Scholastica in Heidelberg, St. John's the Evangelist of Union Hill, St. Benedict of St. Benedict and St. Joseph of Lexington. The St. Joseph building was closed last year and the St. Benedict building will close under plans announced last month. The mergers will be effective January 1, 2011.