St. Martin of Tours parish's first decade

You might recall that I had concluded from two Catholic Herald articles that the merged St. Martin of Tours parish here in Franklin wound up with the same number of member households as the larger of the two pre-merger parish. Despite that, the merged parish then built a new, larger church.

You might also recall that I later received this explanation.

Mark Mitchell, the parish's director of administration, who is quoted in the later article, says the 1997 status animarium report for Sacred Hearts showed 3,455 parishioners, and the 1998 report for the merged St. Martin's parish showed 3,931.

The latest District 16 stats [6 pp. pdf] show 3,555 members for the parish, only 100 more than for Sacred Hearts parish alone before the merger, and almost 400 less than immediately after the merger. Sunday Mass attendance averages less than 400 at each of three Masses, just over half the new church building's capacity. Even so, the parish Mission Statement says it's "vibrant".