Moving week has arrived!

Nearly all central offices of the Diocese of Peoria will be closed Monday through Friday, Nov. 10-14, as files and furniture are transported from the Sheen Pastoral Center in Peoria and several outlying locations to the nearly completed Spalding Pastoral Center at 419 N.E. Madison Ave.

The offices of The Catholic Post and Catholic Charities, however, will remain open next week.

The Catholic Post, which has been housed in a residence at 409 N.E. Monroe St. for six decades, will be one of the last offices moved to the new pastoral center in mid-November.

“We hope to provide our readers with uninterrupted service,” said Tom Dermody, editor. A future issue of the newspaper, he said, will feature photos and stories introducing the new pastoral center and detailing the locations and contact information for each office.

Because Internet service to the diocese will be down for much of next week, Dermody said e-mails sent to The Catholic Post prior to Nov. 17 should be sent to this address: cathpost@mcleodusa.net.

The new, four-story Spalding Pastoral Center will not only be home for diocesan offices now scattered in several aging and inefficient buildings — including many at the former St. Bernard’s School — but it will include features at the service of every Catholic in the diocese, including a 12,000-square-foot conference center and a planned museum area and library.

The diocesan Chancery will be relocated from the bishop’s residence next to the cathedral to the fourth floor of the new pastoral center.

Named for Archbishop John Lancaster Spalding, the first Bishop of Peoria, the center was funded by the generosity of donors who designated their gifts be utilized to serve diocese-wide purposes. No monies were taken from the Annual Diocesan Appeal or the endowments established by the “Rooted in Faith” Capital Campaign.

The main telephone number for the Diocese of Peoria will remain (309) 671-1550. During the move next week, however, calls should be directed to the Chancery at (309) 671-1561. Messages will be taken there and given to the recipients.