PEORIA MAGAZINE October 2023

COVER STORY

CHANGES AFOOT IN PEORIA CATHOLIC DIOCESE New Bishop Louis Tylka

Peoria, which sprawls across Illinois from the Quad Cities to Danville, Tylka, 53, was ordained as coadjutor bishop in 2020 to support Bishop Daniel Jenky. He assumed the full duties of overseeing the diocese’s 155 parishes when Jenky retired in 2022. He came to central Illinois from the Chicago area. “The diocese in general has wonder ful, faithful, generous people who love the Lord and love the church, who want to grow closer to the Lord and want to hand on the faith to others,” Tylka said. That includes the members of 31 parishes in the Tri-County Area, 17 in Peoria County, with Catholics com posing 19% of the population; seven parishes in Woodford County (15% of the population); and seven parishes in Tazewell County (10%). A FRESH LOOK, ‘ROOTED IN PRAYER’ Soon after he became bishop, Tylka introduced his two-year pastoral plan ning process, called “Growing Disciples.”

The initiative is intended to be a thorough and honest assessment of the diocese’s parishes, how they serve the Catholic faithful, and what im provements need to be made. Tylka has traveled throughout the diocese to meet with priests and hold listening sessions with lay leaders. “The Growing Disciples process of discernment is our effort to reach de cisions about the structure of the net work of parishes,” Tylka said in a recent interview in his office at the Spalding Pastoral Center. “It is a way to take that honest look at where we’re at and how we move forward. What is the (Holy) Spirit calling us to move forward in and how do we set ourselves up for fruitfulness in the mission that the Lord has given to us?” The initial phase, which started in late 2022, ultimately will lead to making possibly difficult decisions about the future of parishes and schools, Tylka said. Even then, the changes will not happen overnight, he said.

has launched an era of local reassessment as part of one of the most enduring institutions in the western world BY MICHAEL MILLER PHOTOS BY RON JOHNSON R oman Catholic Bishop Louis Tylka is taking the 26-county Peoria Diocese into what he hopes is a new phase of spiri tual growth as it nears its 150th anni versary as part of a 2,000-year-old in stitution, one that traces its foundations back directly to Jesus and his apostles. Known as “Bishop Lou” to the 132,000 faithful of the Catholic Diocese of

38 OCTOBER 2023 PEORIA MAGAZINE