BOSTON — Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley has issued three decrees affecting parishes in the Merrimack, North and West regions of the archdiocese.

Two parishes, both named St. Mary, in two towns of the Merrimack region, Georgetown and Rowley, will cease and a new parish serving both towns will be created at noon on June 30, 2006. The new parish will include the territory of the two previous parishes; the goods and obligations of each parish will become those of the new parish and the canonical registers of both parishes will be kept at the new St. Mary Parish.

In Lynn, in the North region, St. Michael, a Polish personal parish, will be suppressed on June 25 at 2 p.m. This parish had previously been granted an extension on its original closing date in order to celebrate its planned centennial. According to the decree, the records of the parish will be kept at Sacred Heart Parish, Lynn, and the goods and obligations of the suppressed parish will follow the parishioners to Sacred Heart’s to satisfy the increased pastoral needs of accepting new parishioners. The remainder will belong to the archdiocese as determined by Sacred Heart’s pastor.

In the West region, Newton’s Corpus Christi Parish and St. Bernard Parish will cease and a new parish designated Corpus Christi-St. Bernard will come into existence at noon on July 1, 2006. The territory of the parish will be the combined territory of the pervious parishes; the goods and obligations of each parish will become those of the new parish and the canonical registers of both parishes will be at the new parish.

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