In mid October 2010, the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis announced a Strategic Plan which would merge Holy Cross, St. Hedwig and St. Clement into St. Anthony of Padua. This decision has met with significant opposition, with a number of appeals being sent to Archbishop John C. Nienstedt. One appeal, organized by the Polish Committee at Holy Cross, was signed by over 400 people. As a result, Archbishop Nienstedt issued a new decree on November 15, 2010, which extended the deadline for the merger to be enacted until July 2013, emphasized that Mass in Polish will continue in the merged parish, and ordered that after the merger that St. Anthony change its name to Holy Cross. Parishioners from St. Hedwig and Holy Cross appealed this second decree, requesting that their parishes be left out of the merger. Approximately 800 people signed this second appeal. In a December 27, 2010, letter, Archbishop Nienstedt rejected this appeal. As a result, Holy Cross parishioners organized an appeal to the Vatican's Congregation for Clergy. Over 1,000 people signed this appeal. In January 2011, the Congregation accepted the appeal for consideration. In late July, the Congregation found that Archbishop Nienstedt's decree did not violate canon law. This decision was appealed to the Apostolic Signature, which upheld the Congregation's ruling in mid-2012. Formal appeals exhausted, the parishes are set to merge on July 1, 2013. Some continue to appeal to Archbishop Nienstedt to remove Holy Cross and St. Hedwig's from the merger. To date, he has declined to do so and suggested that such appeals are based more on nationalism than on concern for the Catholic faith.