By Michelle Martin
Staff writer

When the Archdiocese of Chicago was introduced to three new auxiliary bishops Jan. 24, and found two old friends and one newcomer.

Cardinal George announced that Pope John Paul II had named Father Francis Kane, 60, now serving as pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Wilmette, and Father Thomas Paprocki, 50, former chancellor and now pastor of St. Constance Parish on the Northwest Side. He also named Missionary of the Holy Spirit Father Gustavo Garcia-Siller, who had been serving as his order’s U.S. provincial in California.

The three new bishops will be ordained and installed March 19.

At the same time, the Holy Father accepted the retirements of Auxiliary Bishops Raymond Goedert, the vicar general; Thad Jakubowski of Vicariate IV, the near West suburbs; and John Gorman of Vicariate V, the Southwest section of the archdiocese.

Cardinal George said the appointments show Pope John Paul II’s care for the Archdiocese of Chicago.

“They especially evidence his concern for the Polish and Hispanic communities of Chicago, being as large as they are, especially after the immigration of the last decade,” the cardinal said, noting that Bishop-designate Parpocki leads a mostly Polish parish and recently spent a sabbatical in Poland studying the language and culture and that Bishop-designate Garcia is a native of Mexico.

The new bishops all expressed surprise and humility at their appointments.

“It’s a great privilege, a great honor and a great responsibility,” said Bishop-designate Kane, who frankly admitted that being notified of his appointment was a little scary.

“I want to ask for prayers from everyone to be a good bishop,” said Bishop-designate Paprocki, a civil and canon lawyer and marathon runner as well as pastor.

The announcement may have come as the greatest surprise to Bishop-designate Garcia, who said that he arrived in Chicago Jan. 23—when the high temperature was 12 degrees—without a warm winter coat.

“I am thankful to God and God’s people because of the appointment I received,” the new bishop said. “I promise that I will learn how to adapt to the weather in Chicago.”

Bishop-designate Garcia was born and raised in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, and joined the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit, a Mexican religious community, in 1973. He studied in Guadalajara and at St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo, Calif., and holds master’s degrees in philosophy, theology and psychology. He was ordained in Guadalajara in 1984, and spent several years doing formation work for his community.

He first came to the United States in 1980 to work with Mexican migrant workers and learn English and American culture, he said. At the time, he lived and worked with the poor members of the parishes he served.

“I believe that God is present everywhere and in everyone,” he said. “We believe the church is the presence of God in the people. To be able to convey that to people was a rewarding experience.”

Bishop-designate Garcia said he looks forward to serving all of the people of the archdiocese, he will work in a special way with his Hispanic brothers and sisters. According to the 2002 census, more than 1.1 million Hispanics make up more than 20 percent of the population of the Archdiocese of Chicago, with 77 percent of them from Mexico or claiming Mexican heritage. The archdiocese’s Office for Hispanic Ministry estimates that about 36 percent of parishioners are Hispanic.

Bishop-designate Garcia is the oldest of 15 children, including a brother who is a priest of the Archdiocese of San Luis Potosi and a sister who is a member of the Daughters of the Holy Spirit. His parents, both still living, own a furniture store.

New Bishops Paprocki and Kane, on the other hand, are both favorite sons of the South Side and products of the archdiocese’s seminary system.

Bishop-designate Paprocki, one of nine children, attended St. Casimir Grade School at Cermak Road and Albany Avenue before entering Quigley Preparatory Seminary South, Niles College and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary, from which he graduated and was ordained in 1978. The following year, he earned his licentiate in sacred theology from Mundelein while starting work on a law degree at DePaul University.

At the same time, he served as associate pastor of St. Michael Parish (South Shore) until 1983, then as administrator of nearby St. Joseph Parish until 1986. While working on the South Side, he started the South Chicago Legal Clinic, and he still serves as its president.

Cardinal Bernardin appointed then-Father Paprocki vice-chancellor in 1985, sending him to Gregorian University in Rome in 1987 to study canon law. He received his doctorate in 1991, and the following year was named chancellor of the archdiocese.

He held that post for two terms, leaving in June 2000 to study Polish at Jagiellonian University in Krakow. Since 2001, he has served as pastor of St. Constance, which has a large Polish-speaking population. Census figures report nearly a million Poles or Polish-Americans living in the Chicago area, numbers that have been bolstered by high levels of immigration throughout the 1990s.

Bishop-designate Kane was the oldest of five children in his family, attending Our Lady of Peace Grade School on the South Side before entering Quigley Preparatory Seminary High School, Niles College and University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary before being ordained in 1969. He served as associate pastor at St. John Fisher and St, Nicholas of Tolentine parishes, and as an associate director of the Center for Pastoral Ministry, before being named the first director of the Office for the Ministry of Peace and Justice in 1979. In that position, he worked with the Illinois Catholic Conference, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development and Catholic Relief Services. In 1983, he was named director of community services, and he served as chairman of the task force that revised the parish sharing program in 1984. In 1986, he coordinated the efforts of the Gang Intervention Project.

Bishop-designate Kane has served as pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Wilmette for 10 years. In that time, he re-opened the parish school, which now has more than 300 students, and became dean of the parishes in Skokie, Evanston, Wilmette and Northfield.

None of the new bishops has received his assignment from Cardinal George, who said he must consult with the other auxiliary bishops before deciding where to place them.

In the meantime, the three retiring bishops will continue in their duties.

“This doesn’t mean they will immediately retire from the scene,” Cardinal George said. “They will continue in their present duties for some time.”

And, he hopes, they will remain in Chicago and continue to assist the archdiocese for the foreseeable future.

“I hope they stay in Chicago. This is their home,” he said, adding with a smile: “And I have some ideas for ways to make use of them.”

Bishop Goedert, who led the archdiocese between Cardinal Bernardin’s death in November 1996 and Cardinal George’s appointment in April 1997, said he is looking forward to some time off.

“Most people, when they retire, they get a gold watch,” he said. “If the cardinal will give me a new blade for my chain saw, I will be perfectly happy to go off in the distance and chop trees.”

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