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Hi, Arthur —
Thanks for the question.
Seeing that the bishops of the Church are the current
day Apostles of our Church, they have the authority,
Jesus invested in them and their successors, to change
the name of any Church.
In my area of Boston, we had a period where churches
were suppressed or combined.
Sometimes the names were just combined like {St.
Peter - St. Paul's}, other times, neither name was
used but two churches were combined under the title
using a new saint's name.
Most of the time, if the parishioners of that
diocese have a pastoral sensitive bishop, the
bishop will get input and feedback from the parishioners
of those churches that are being combined with each
other.
To my knowledge, the Church doesn't have to be consecrated,
though the bishop will usually have a special Mass
for such an occasion.
You said:
- Why is it not forbidden to change
the original name which had been fine for almost a century?
This all comes under the authority and responsibility
of the local bishop. His primary job is:
- the administration of the churches under his
care
- the preaching the Gospel to the faithful, and
- the salvation of souls in general.
Any action involving the changing of the name of
a church, should have these goals in mind.
The important thing for the parishioner to remember
is, this is his responsibility, not ours.
I know an event like this can be a very painful period
of time, but just offer it up.
I personally would rather go through the
painful process of suppressing or closing a few churches,
yet be financially stable, than keep too many churches
open and see the diocese file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
The four primary things I pray for our diocese are:
- holiness for our bishops, seminary professors,
pastors, priests, and laity
- liturgical orthodoxy in how the Holy Mass is
celebrated
- orthodox teaching that is faithful to the
Magisterium, and
- financial stability
in this order : )
Hope this helps,
Mike
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