New deaneries look to collaboration, creativity in archdiocese

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis implemented 15 new deaneries on July 1 to encourage collaboration between parishes and reduce the workload for priests and parish staff. These new groupings, which contain between nine and 19 parishes each, aim to give parishioners better access to various ministries within their local area, even if those ministries are not hosted at their specific parish.

Father Joseph Bambenek, who leads the Office for the Renewal of Structures, noted that the model allows for shared resources, such as a single young adult ministry serving multiple parishes within a deanery. Archbishop Bernard Hebda approved the new boundaries on May 26 after the Deanery Boundaries and Grouping Committee, which Father Bambenek and eight other priests joined in April 2025, developed recommendations to segment deaneries into rural, suburban, and urban groups.