Our Lady of Victory Parish in Hopkinton's Ashaway village has merged into St. Joseph Parish in Hope Valley under a bishop's decree that keeps the Ashaway church building available for worship.
The seven-page decree, signed Oct. 9 by Providence Bishop Bruce A. Lewandowski, sets the merger to take effect with notification to parishioners during the Oct. 31-Nov. 1 weekend.
St. Joseph will receive Our Lady of Victory's parishioners, assets and liabilities. The Ashaway church will remain an additional worship site of St. Joseph. Records of baptisms, confirmations, marriages and other sacraments, along with death records, will be maintained at St. Joseph.
The decree cites a priest shortage and says the Rev. Francesco Francese and both parishes' leadership formally requested the merger in May. Since July, Francese has also served St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Bradford. That parish is not part of this merger.
Attendance declined at both parishes
The decree describes declining attendance and shared administration. The parishes have shared a pastor and administration since 2019.
Our Lady of Victory's average weekend attendance fell from about 170 in 2015 to about 90 in 2024, according to figures in the decree. St. Joseph's fell from about 277 to about 190 over the same period.
Since July 2026, the document puts attendance at about 71 at Our Lady of Victory's Sunday Mass and about 182 at St. Joseph's weekend Masses. The decree separately lists about 154 registered parishioners at Our Lady of Victory and about 318 at St. Joseph as of May 2026.
Mass schedule and reconsideration
The parish website listed as of Oct. 31 Sunday Mass at Our Lady of Victory at 8 a.m. St. Joseph lists Saturday Mass at 5:30 p.m. and Sunday Mass at 10:30 a.m.
Under the decree, parishioners who want the bishop to reconsider must send a written request to the Bishop of Providence within 10 useful (business) days of the Oct. 31-Nov. 1 notification. The decree calls this a firm deadline under church law, canon 1734. It does not state a calendar filing date.