By Hilary Anderson
Contributor

In a colorful and richly traditional ceremony March 19, Father Francis Kane will be ordained a bishop and follow in the footsteps of the apostles. Not bad for a man who wasn’t even sure he had a vocation to the priesthood.

“I didn’t always want to be a priest,” Bishop Kane said. “I toyed with the idea in my youth and it kind of grew in me. By my ordination, I realized what an awesome gift [from God] it was to be a priest.”

Nor was the idea of becoming a bishop in his frame of reference. He always thought he’d serve the rest of his life as a parish priest.

“I had no inkling that this was going to happen,” Bishop Kane said. “It was a shock when I got the news. I always thought I would spend the rest of my life here at St. Joseph’s (Wilmette), which would have made me happy, too. I think about what a great privilege and awesome responsibility I will have following in the footsteps of the apostles. It shakes me to the bottom of my being to realize I will be part of a 2,000 year awesome tradition.”

Bishop Kane—whose father could trace his family’s Chicago roots back 140 years—is a product of the city’s South Side. His relatives survived the Chicago Fire of 1871.

“My grandmother would tell me stories about the Chicago Fire,” the new bishop said. “They lived just south of where the fire was burning. My grandfather was missing. His family thought the worst but later discovered he was fighting the fire. The men were standing on the roofs of houses trying to put out the fire using buckets of water. My family knew the O’Leary’s (the legendary cause of the blaze).”

His maternal grandmother, Mary Groarke, emigrated to the United States from Knock, Ireland, in her late teens. Bishop Kane’s mother, Kathleen, and father, Frank (now deceased), began their married life at Our Lady of Peace Parish but later moved to St. Ferdinand Parish, where he celebrated his first Mass following his ordination in 1969. They bore four children in addition to Bishop Kane: Joseph, who lives in Iowa; James, River Forest; Mary Ellen Burke, Elmhurst; and Regina Millington, Naperville.

Bishop Kane attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary, where he spent free time playing hockey, tennis, golf and other sports.

The new bishop served at St. John Fisher and St. Nicholas of Tolentine parishes, both on Chicago’s Southwest Side, and at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Chicago’s Lakeview area.

He held several administrative posts for the archdiocese, including one as associate director for the Archdiocese Center for Pastoral Ministry.

In 1979, Cardinal Joseph Bernardin named Bishop Kane the first director for the Office for the Ministry of Peace and Justice, a position he enjoyed.

“I had a wonderful experience in peace and justice,” Bishop Kane said. “Cardinal Bernardin was working on the peace pastoral. Over the next 10 years I worked with him on many important issues. We had experiences in Latin America and the Philippines among other places. Those were formative years for me.”

Bishop Kane also liked being a parish priest. He was happy to be appointed pastor of St. Joseph, Wilmette, in 1993. He’s served there since. During his pastorate, he reopened its school, which had been closed for a decade. It has grown from a kindergarten-through-fourth grade program to a full grade school including a preschool. About 300 students are enrolled.

The parish’s religious education program likewise has blossomed during his tenure as pastor.

“Father Kane’s leadership and open-mindedness has attracted many new and young families to our parish,” said Dana McKenna, director of religious education at St. Joseph. “He’s receptive to creativity and new ideas. The programming here has taken on a whole new face, all with the ultimate purpose of deepening everyone’s faith.”

McKenna credits Bishop Kane with giving the go-ahead to the parish’s successful preschool.

“He empowers people to try new things,” she said. “The preschool program came about because a group of mothers said there was a need for a Catholic preschool in our area. He listened to their needs and the rest is history. Other parish programs are the result of his openness to new ideas. We now have an annual block party that attracts nearly 1,500 people. It is not uncommon to see 70 to 100 people at our ‘Soup and Stations’ service each Friday during Lent. They’re just some of the innovative church programs that resulted because Father Kane initially said, ‘Let’s try.’”

Bishop Kane also celebrated the parish’s 150th anniversary while at St. Joseph.

“I remember all of my parish assignments,” he said. “Over the years I have had wonderful experiences in parish work. They have shaped my life. It is so important to help families create a culture and atmosphere of faith—a little church—where its members understand how God loves them. It also gives me a boost when you reach someone and bring them back [to God].”

Bishop Kane has also served as dean of neighboring parishes in Skokie, Evanston, Winnetka, Northfield and Wilmette.

“Just being dean these past years has given me a pastoral perspective of the vitality of the church in Chicago,” he said. “It is not only my own commitment but the excitement of the church here that makes me realize how privileged we are to live in this archdiocese.”

He hopes to help and influence the priests under him in the same manner other bishops have helped him.

“I have known many bishops and had great admiration for them,” he said. “They have been an enormous influence on me and I hope I will be as big an influence on the priests as the bishops have been for me. I also admire Cardinal George. He is a brilliant person and wonderful human being.”

Bishop Kane credits his priest friends and classmates with being supportive and keeping him grounded.

“It’s a great gift to have friends around you who can share things most people wouldn’t understand and give you encouragement when necessary,” he said. “I also like the peace of slipping into church just to think and pray.”

When time permits, he still enjoys playing golf with many of those friends.

Bishop Kane openly addresses the many challenges facing the Catholic Church in today’s society and has set two goals for himself as bishop. One is to bring unity and solidarity to the church. The other is to teach.

“I am aware of the issues that are plaguing the church,” he said. “They are distressing and troubling, but through my experiences—especially those from the past couple years—I hope to bring some real healing, unity and a sense that despite its flaws and failings, the church is an institution of vitality and promise. I am committed to help the church touch the lives and hearts of its people.”

He added, “As bishop I have the great responsibility of teaching the truths of our faith and helping people understand what a wonderful gift our faith is and appreciate its history and tradition.”

Many of Bishop Kane’s family members will be looking on with pride as he is ordained a bishop. His mother, brothers and sisters and relatives from Ireland and England will be there.

“I ask for everyone’s prayers,” he said. “Becoming a bishop is beyond anything I ever imagined but I truly believe God is in control. We have to follow him wherever he wants us to go. I have great affection for the people of the archdiocese. It will be a privilege to serve them.”