2 Parishes + 3 Churches = A Strong Community of Faith

“Remember the past with gratitude … live the present with enthusiasm … and look forward to the future with confidence.” – Pope St. John Paul II

More than  300 people attended this summer’s July 12 picnic hosted by Holy Family and St. Marianne Cope parishes in Syracuse — just one year after Bishop Douglas J. Lucia appointed Father John Manno to serve as their shared pastor.

Held at Lakeland Park in the town of Geddes, the picnic attracted parishioners from all walks of life — and ages — from “a three-month-old infant to a 95-year-old woman,” shared Shelly Terzolo of Holy Family, who headed the picnic planning committee.

Although not technically linked, the sister parishes of Holy Family and St. Marianne Cope have shared clergy since July 1, 2025, upon the retirement of Father Joseph Clemente, who had served as pastor of St. Marianne Cope Parish. Since then, the clergy at Holy Family — pastor Father John Manno, parochial vicar Father Bernard Menard, and several deacons — celebrate and assist at Masses at St. Marianne Cope Parish, which includes two church locations: St. Cecilia’s in Solvay and Our Lady of Peace in Lakeland.

Both Terzolo and St. Marianne Cope Parish council chair Ed Weber described the picnic as a highly successful event that brought parish and community members together while celebrating one year of working and praying alongside each other.

“The reason we did this was to bring everybody together in one spot, and for evangelization also of the community area,” Weber said. “I was astonished by the amount of people [who came]. We kept track — everybody signed in — and we had what they call a ‘parish tree’ involved. … That’s how we got to know everybody.”

Terzolo shared that active members from both parishes — some part of the Holy Family hospitality team, the Holy Family Knights of Columbus, the St. Marianne Cope Holy Name, and the St. Marianne Cope Altar Rosary Society — all became friends during the picnic planning process. The outcome was an afternoon of fellowship, food, and fun. Attendees enjoyed a door prize raffle, root beer floats, brownie sundaes, hamburgers, hot dogs, sausage, pizza fritte, live music, face painting, and more. “We went through 30 half-gallons of ice cream,” Terzolo said.

Father Manno emphasized how much collaboration was involved for the event to be a success. “The committee of people who worked on the picnic ultimately came up with the idea of ‘Let’s [have] a picnic and let’s get people together outside of church’ … and basically pulled off this beautiful picnic. … It was just a very, very nice event for all three churches to come together,” Fr. Manno said.

Collaboration and communication

For members of St. Marianne Cope Parish, collaborating on something new is a practice they’ve been doing for quite some time. St. Cecilia’s and Our Lady of Peace were two linked parishes before they officially merged in 2019 to form the brand-new parish of St. Marianne Cope. Located close to one another, the two parishes have always been somewhat “unofficially linked”: Families from both parishes often knew each other because their children attended Solvay schools, and Our Lady of Peace was originally a mission church from St. Cecilia’s, explained Cheryl Michalski. Michalski, originally from Our Lady of Peace, now serves as a parish council member at St. Marianne Cope.

The main reason for merging was due to finances. “We just kept talking about, you know, we’re having problems staying afloat — both churches. We really needed to just kind of come together,” Michalski said.

Although the relationship between the two parishes was generally positive while they were linked, the idea of merging, becoming one new parish, and sharing finances was not immediately accepted by everyone, Michalski shared. If both church locations were to be retained within the new parish, however, coming together financially was necessary. “The reason we came together and made one financial parish was to keep both campuses open. … We came together to be stronger in numbers, stronger in finance,” and if the decision to merge was not made, most likely one of the churches would have been sold, she said.

Along the way, communicating changes to parishioners was of utmost importance. “We would have a big open meeting with questions and answers, and an outline of what was happening. Communication was the key,” emphasized Michalski. “A lot of folks had to realize the big picture,” she said, adding that it was important to communicate, “This is the way to go. We need to stay strong; we need to stay viable.”

Another important piece of merging the two parishes — and eventually sharing clergy with Holy Family — was ensuring the priests had the administrative support they needed. St. Marianne Cope Parish hired Gabriel Gul to be its administrator, and many parishioners stepped up across both campuses, volunteering to coordinate tasks such as altar serving, lectoring, and setting up and preparing for Masses. “We have all that in place so that the priest can basically walk in the door, do the Mass, and walk out,” without having to worry about things like setting up the altar, preparing the readings, and turning off the lights and locking the doors at the end, Michalski said.

Recognizing a new reality

St. Marianne Cope becoming sister parishes with Holy Family has brought new changes to how the faith community operates. Father Manno shared some of the ways these changes have played out: Parish council meetings have been combined periodically throughout the year; both parishes are now using one bulletin, leading to increased visibility of activities going on in the other parish; and one of the first changes that went into effect was a new Mass schedule with fewer weekend Masses. While the new Mass schedule certainly altered some parishioners’ routines, for Weber, it ultimately meant more options.

“You have a choice now,” Weber said. “You can go to any one of the three churches for any of the Masses they have, and you’re not just stuck with one church building. You have a choice of three different churches and several different Masses.”

For Michalski, this was one important step to strengthening the community of faith now shared by the two parishes across the three campuses.

“Let’s work together and build a strong, big location of faith community,” said Michalski. “Let’s make sure that we are all familiar with your face when you come to my parish. That I know who you are and I welcome you, and I’m glad you’re here today. Even though that’s your parish over there — I get it. But today, you needed to come here.”

What’s next for the parishes of Holy Family and St. Marianne Cope?

On Saturday, Sept. 12, a historical tour of all three church locations is planned, where parishioners originally from each building can learn about each other’s artwork and history, while also enjoying some food and fellowship. Michalski hopes this effort will continue to help parishioners feel more comfortable at each other’s worship sites.

Reflecting on the process up to this point, Michalski shared both honesty and encouragement. “It takes time. It takes patience,” she said. “We’re excited for the future. We’re excited to see that this is working and that it’s growing. It’s a blessing.”

“I think it’s been a good fit,” Father Manno agreed. “There’s a lot of collaboration, and just the sense that, you know, it’s a different day and age for the Church. For me, as pastor of Holy Family and St. Marianne Cope, which [encompasses] St. Cecilia’s and Our Lady of Peace, and Vicar for Clergy — 15 years ago, those were four full-time jobs. … It just shows you how different our reality is today as a Church, and how we have to really work hard to recognize this new reality. We have to re-imagine things. How do we move? How do we function together?”

Looking to the future, many questions remain unanswered, but the path forward is clear.

“We’re going to have to work together, and if we do it, we know that some good things are going to happen. The Holy Spirit has some good things in store for us,” said Father Manno. “We all have our fears and trepidations, and if we allow them to lead, we’re just going to stumble and fall. I think the blessing that I’ve seen is people have just been open to where God’s leading them, and they’ve accepted it. Some good things have happened to this point, and we look forward to what’s to come.”