A weekly column of benevolent gossip

They were here first — The Daughters of St. Mary of Providence are in their 76th year

	Sr. Beth Ann Dillon

of service to the arch’s developmentally disabled. The religious congregation, founded in Italy, opened the very first residential facility for handicapped people in the state of Illinois in 1925 at 4242 N. Austin. This main facility is now a series of buildings with a therapeutic school for boys and girls, ages 3-18; training programs for developmentally disabled adults 18 and over, a residential program for women who cannot live at home with their families, and a communal living facility of apartments. There is a gym-auditorium for enjoying music, dance and athletics, a swimming pool, chapel, and computer technology in their schoolrooms. Last year’s Diamond Anniversary was recognized Feb. 8 when their Ald. Thomas Allen presented Sister Beth Ann Dillon, administrator, with a proclamation on behalf of Mayor Daley and the Chicago City Council. For more information, call (773) 545-8300.

Correction: Hold on to your rosaries— the one million simultaneous rosary recitation to end abortion is planned for 8 a.m. local time on May 12, not May 1. Clips apologizes for the error.

Greening of the arch — It’s not just the South Side Irish Parade and the downtown St. Patrick’s Day Parade. They’ll also be lining up at 12:30 p.m. March 10 at the Metra Station in Lemont for a big tribute to the sons and daughters of Ireland. And Lemont has its own church dedicated to St. Patrick, but then so does Lake Forest and Wadsworth, and, of course, Old St. Pat’s on Adams.

Arts support — If you want a precious work of art to get safely to the Vatican, give it to The Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums. Attorney Edmund M. Burke, a member of St. Francis of Assisi Parish (Orland Park), is president of the Patrons. When Sara Lee Corporation, headquartered in Chicago, decided to give away the entire top tier, 52 works, of its celebrated art collection, it was an unusual act of corporate generosity. They didn’t sell it off—they gifted it away to 40 museums around the world. The treasure chest contained works from Monet (1872) to Moore (1964), and Giacomo Manzu’s bronze sculpture “Seated Cardinal” (1962) went to the Vatican Museum. Presentation of the Millennium Gift took place at the Vatican at a reception that included Burke and Michael E. Murphy of Sara Lee and others. The Sara Lee Foundation also recently awarded a one-time grant of $100,000 to Deborah’s Place, a human service organization in the arch that addresses homelessness among women.

‘Finding’ God — The February issue of Chicago Magazine has a cover story about “Surviving O’Hare.” One of the sub-topics is “Where To Find God”—with a full page on the airport’s chapel and its former Catholic chaplain, Father John Jamnicky, interviewed before he was transferred to Washington D.C. The new chaplain is Father Michael Zaniolo.

Note this — The Lira Children’s Chorus is currently auditioning in two locations. The chorus performs Polish and American music, and knowledge of Polish is helpful but lessons in Polish and English diction will be provided along with professional vocal training. Auditions and rehearsals for children ages 8-14, are at 7:15 p.m. Tuesdays at St. Ladislaus School, 3330 N. Lockwood or Thursdays at 7:15 p.m. at the Polish Women’s Alliance in Park Ridge. For more information, call (773) 539-4900. . . . Calling all tamburitza lovers, i.e. those who just love that so-called Slavic mandolin, or those who play or played in a tams band. A reunion of all the musical groups and devotees is set for 6 p.m. March 10 in the Croatian Center, 8550 Taft St., Merrillville, Ind. For music and an all-you-want Croatian buffet, call Rosemary Kesely in Munster at (219) 836-0720 by March 6.

top