Guarda: Diocese avança com projeto-piloto de unidades territoriais

The Diocese of Guarda is beginning a territorial reorganization through a pilot project involving 6 pastoral units. This experimental model, which runs through the 2026/27 period, is part of a plan to consolidate the diocese's 375 parishes into 27 pastoral units by 2032.

Father Ângelo Martins, coordinator of the Secretariado de Coordenação Pastoral Guarda, announced the project during the third Assembleia Diocesana Sinodal. The teams for Covilhã Sul and Seia Urbana have already taken office, and the remaining 4 units are scheduled to begin operations in October.

The reorganization follows a process that began in late 2025, which included reflection groups and two assemblies held in April and May. Father Martins noted that the changes respond to different modern circumstances and a need for new approaches to local evangelization. He also stated that parishioners across the diocese have expressed a significant need for better catechetical and evangelical formation.