a column of benevolent gossip
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Laurel wreaths
— Fr. Jim Keating of St. Michael’s Church (South Shore), received an Honorary Alumnus Award from Annunciata Parish (E. 111th St.) “for dedicated service to the East Side Community.” . . . Father Tom Dore of St. Giles Parish (Oak Park) completed his 24th annual “Chicago on Foot Tour.” Sounds easy, but he does it the hard way: with the whole 8th grade class (60 kids) from St. Giles School. First, they ride the CTA Blue Line downtown. This year they marched from the cathedral to Quigley’s chapel, the Hancock observatory, and then to Navy Pier for food, fun and a ride on the Sea Dog. They ended with a stroll to Millennium Park, all on a beautiful day in May. . . . Dan Fumagalli received the prestigious Pro Bono Service Award from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois recently. Dan’s clients include the Archdiocese of Chicago. -
The Irish are coming
— Get the green marker, and circle July 13-15 on your calendars. The Irish American Heritage Center’s (N. Knox) Irish Fest is at hand. Music and dancing, of course, a folk tent, author Malachy McCourt, an Irish Idol Competition and more. Call (773) 282-7035, Ext. 10 for tickets. -
Looks good on a resume!
— If you’re a pro-life college student looking for an internship this summer, here’s a deal! Life News.com is looking for interns to help write news articles, do research, promotion, Web site development or advertising. And you don’t have to move to Cheyenne, Wyo., where Life News is located—you can do it online. Just email [email protected] and ask about their unpaid summer internships. (Hey, money isn’t everything!) Let them know your area of interest. It’s a way to be a part of an exciting pro-life news service and enhance your blank resume. They’ll help you obtain course credit as well. -
Parish potpourri
— Our Lady of the Brook (Northbrook) parishioners helped Father Robert Herne, pastor emeritus, celebrate his 60th anniversary of ordination on May 6. Family and friends came from as far as California and South Carolina. . . . St. Martha’s (Morton Grove) has devised a 3-minute parish sign-up system. Registration sheets are handy in the foyer and they can be filled in and given to an usher, staffer or dropped in the rectory mailbox. . . . St. Bruno Parish (S. Harding) used Memorial Day weekend to collect (once again) handy-dandy items for military service men and women overseas. It helps when your pastor is a returned military chaplain, like Father Kilian. . . . It must still feel unusual in June for Joan and Victor Szatkowski of St. Priscilla Parish (W. Addison). All nine of their children have now graduated from college, with alma maters like West Point, De Paul, Lake Forest, Loyola, Dominican and Illinois Benedictine. The last one graduated in 2004 from Lewis University. They’ll start counting grandchildren graduations pretty soon. . . . St. Ann’s (Lansing) is taking a parish survey by mail, asking for “concerns” and “how we can improve.” That can be as daring an idea as walking bravely into a Roman amphitheater. (Kudos just the same) . . . Holy Family Parish (Inverness) breaks ground for its new Families, Children and Youth Center June 10. Mayor Jack Tatooles of Inverness and Mayor William McLeod of Hoffman Estates will be there when pastor Father Pat Brennan does the honors. . . . St. Mary Parish (Buffalo Grove) honored teachers Frank Schmit for 40 years of service and Bonnie Rusin for 25 years of service to the parish school, with a Mass, reception and limo ride to and from the party. . . . Deacon Bruce Bradford and wife Terry are retiring from St. Catherine-St. Lucy (Oak Park) after 22 years of service, and moving to Pekin, Ill. . . . June’s “Chicago” magazine features the growth of the South Loop. Old St. Mary (S. Michigan) parishioners Erin and Patrick Fravel are mentioned in the article as well as the parish’s burgeoning school and its principal Barbara Smith. -
Sentimental journey
— Parishioners from St. Elizabeth Parish (E. 41st St.) are on their “Living the Eucharist with Courage and Joy” pilgrimage right about now. They are traveling by motorcoach to the mission center and shrine of St. Katharine Drexel, in Bensalem, Penn. The shrine holds the entombed remains of the saint who sent some of her Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament in 1917 to teach the black students of St. Elizabeth’s. To take a “virtual” pilgrimage, go to: www.katharinedrexel.org/ pilgrimage.html. . . . The welcome mat is also out at the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, Clyde, Mo. Their annual Summer Monastic Experience July 21-27, is for single women, ages 18-38, without children. You can check out monastic life, no strings attached. The sisters were featured a month ago on a PBS TV show. (They are the only source in the USA for low-gluten altar wafers.) The monastery has a cool Web site at: www.bene dictinesisters.org and an on-line gift shop for handmade soaps and stuff. Call (877) 632-6665 if you’re interested in a monastic adventure. -
Ad multos annos:
Father Al Spilly, a Missionary of the Precious Blood, marks his 40th anniversary of priestly ordination this month. Affable Father Al served as special assistant for 15 years under both Cardinal Bernardin and Cardinal George in the arch. He oversaw publication of some of Cardinal Bernardin’s works, and directed the Bernardin Center for Theology and Ministry at CTU here. A college teacher “in a former life,” he is teaching today at Calumet College of St. Joseph in Whiting, Ind. . . . Father Donald Dietz, OMI, celebrated his 50th anniversary of priesthood May 20 at St. Peter Church (Volo). A native of Rock Island, Ill., and ordained in Rome, besides ministering around the world, Dietz was also a peritus at Vatican II at the invitation of Pope Paul VI.
Send your benevolent gossip to Church Clips, 640 N. LaSalle St., Chicago, IL 60610; or e-mail to [email protected].
Issue of June 10 – June 23, 2007
The following items are condensed. For the complete articles, please read the print edition of The Catholic New World. To subscribe, call (312) 655-7777.
News Update
New World gets CPA honors
New World Publications was recognized with several honors by the Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada.
The Catholic New World received an honorable mention for general excellence among diocesan newspapers with circulation above 40,000, as well as an honorable mention for best front page for a tabloid newspaper. The 2006 Archdiocese of Chicago Directory, edited by Ann DeFrisco and Sister JoAnne Murphy, also received an honorable mention.
Staff writer Michelle Martin received a third place award for best news writing on a local or regional issue for coverage of Cardinal George’s recovery from bladder cancer surgery and an honorable mention in the same category for coverage of policy changes spurred by the alleged abuse of boys by Father Daniel McCormack.
Martin, former staff writer Kerry Lester and contributor Pat Butler received a third place award for best news writing on a national event for the Catholic New World’s coverage of immigration reform.
‘Dreams Across America’ tour
Chicago will be the June 16 stop of the “Dreams Across America” tour, a coast-to-coast train journey bringing together 100 people who will share their stories and educate people about the truth of immigration. The tour, which begins in Los Angeles June 13 and winds up in Washington D.C. June 19-20, where “dreamers” can share their stories with members of Congress. The journey can be followed on its Web site, www.dreamsacrossamerica.org.
The train will pull into Union Station at 2:15 p.m. June 16, for those who would like to welcome it.
News Digest
Benedict: only God is flawless
Only God is thoroughly flawless and holy; imperfect people are constantly in need of forgiveness, Pope Benedict XVI said.
Christians, even great theologians, need to be humble and accept both their own weaknesses and the weaknesses of the church, “because only God is really completely holy. We, instead, constantly need forgiveness,” the pope said at his May 30 weekly general audience.
More than 32,000 pilgrims from all over the world gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the audience. The pope continued his catechesis on the Fathers of the Church and early church teachers by focusing on Tertullian, a second-century theologian and apologist born in Carthage, an ancient city in North Africa.
Four new saints are ‘God’s ‘masterpieces’
Pope Benedict XVI canonized four new saints from Malta, Poland, the Netherlands and France and said they exemplified the many and varied forms of holiness in the church.
“God’s wisdom is manifested in the cosmos, in the variety and beauty of its elements, but his masterpieces are the saints,” the pope said during a rain-soaked liturgy June 3.
Pope to proclaim year dedicated to St. Paul
Pope Benedict XVI plans to proclaim a year dedicated to St. Paul, in preparation for the 2,000th anniversary of the saint’s birth, the Vatican said.
The pope was scheduled to announce the commemorative year at a vespers service June 28 in the Basilica of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls in Rome, on the eve of the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul.
The Pauline Year will run from June 29, 2008, to June 29, 2009, according to information published in a Vatican Radio calendar. No details were immediately available about possible events during the year.
Archdiocese settles 15 sex abuse claims
The Archdiocese of Chicago settled a series of sex abuse lawsuits involving 15 plaintiffs and 12 current and former priests totaling more than $6.56 million.
Plaintiffs’ attorney Jeffrey Anderson announced the settlements, which are for incidents reported to have taken place between 1962 and 1989.
Susan Burritt, the archdiocese’s director of media relations, said the archdiocese has paid more than $51.8 million to 214 people who have brought sexual abuse allegations.
Academy finds new home
After opening its doors two years ago, Chicago Jesuit Academy has relocated to the former St. Martin de Porres grade school building on the city’s West Side.
When it opened, the academy occupied space at Marillac Social Center on a temporary basis, but now the academy will be permanently located at the school building at 5058 W. Jackson Blvd.
St. John Brebeuf teacher retires after 49 years
Sheila Harrington always knew she wanted to be a teacher. But she never imagined her love of the profession would span 49 years at St. John Brebeuf School in Niles, where she first began teaching. Now Harrington is retiring.
Throughout her career, Harrington remained humble and low-key yet thoroughly dedicated to the hundreds of first- and second-graders who passed through her classroom door, according to those who have worked with her. She always looked for ways to inspire her students and help others.
Sculpture to become centerpiece of chapel
Up in the attic of the rectory at St. Stanislaus Kostka, sculptor Stefan Niedorezo works just as similar artists would have worked a hundred years ago.
Using a chisel and hammer, planes, clamps and glue, the Polish-born Niedorezo is making a 9-foot wooden monstrance take shape.
The sculpture, an icon of Our Lady of the Sign from Revelation, is a statue of Mary, sheltered by angels’ wings, enthroned on the Ark of the Covenant. The Eucharist will be displayed in her abdomen, as the lady described in Scripture was with child.
The massive monstrance, built of linden wood and decorated with gold leaf, crystal and pearls, will be the centerpiece of a new Sanctuary of the Divine Mercy at St. Stanislaus Kostka.
