Diocese of Trenton Lumen Christi Cohort

We are visibly "On Fire!" for Christ in all we do. We worship with a profound sense of gratitude, joy, adoration, and praise. We are a beacon of love and hope to those who are seeking a meaning and purpose in life. We are a bridge: between generations, between God and those that have fallen away from active practice of faith and sacraments, and between ethnic communities. We preach by our example that all are loved and wanted by God and can be saved by the Risen Christ.

The Lumen Christi Cohort (formerly Cohort 6) was created as part of Bishop O'Connell's Faith in our Future initiative, an eight-step initiative meant to strengthen and enliven the parishes of the Diocese. It is a process through which the Diocese and its parishes and ministries will plan to meet challenges and respond to new opportunities for sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ for years to come. 

Parishes were aligned in groups of three to five neighboring parishes called a “cohort.” Lumen Chrisit Cohort 6 is comprised of five parishes: Our Lady of Sorrows-St. Anthony, St. Gregory the Great, St. Raphael-Holy Angels, and St. Vincent de Paul, all of Hamilton, and St. John the Baptist, Allentown.

On January 25, 2017, Bishop O'Connell released his final decisions for Faith in Our Future. The Bishop’s decisions for Cohort 6 are as follows:

1. Collaborative Model for all five parishes in the Lumen Christi Cohort
2. Linkage Model for St. John and St. Vincent de Paul, no later than July 1, 2019
3. Our Lady of Sorrows-St. Anthony designated as a Center for Haitian Ministry
4. Periodic review of St. Raphael-Holy Angels; potential suspension of operations of Holy Angels Church as early as July 1, 2017.

The Lumen Christi Cohort is a group of COLLABORATIVE PARISHES that enter into formal, collaborative relationships, working together on specific, agreed-upon shared areas of ministry, shared programs, shared staffing, shared resources; parishes remain distinct with their own pastor, pastoral and finance councils, finances, census and sacramental books; collaborative parishes work together whenever possible to do what a single parish cannot do effectively alone.

Our Cohort collaborates to aspire to be signs of God's presence in the world by living the Gospel, worshipping the Trinity, igniting the youth, helping/feeding those in need, respecting all life, and providing lifelong religious education opportunities. Through our mission we will:

KNOW - Evangelize the faithful through the teachings of scripture, Catholic tradiiton and academic excellence
LOVE - Respect the dignity of all human beings by showing care and giving an educational opportuniyt
SERVE - Be stewards of God's creation through sesrvice to the school, parish, community and world