For many years, the Children’s Christmas Party at Holy Family has offered a fun holiday experience for local children and their families and provided toys at Christmastime to children who might otherwise have gone without. This year, the event will be held for the first time in the Notre Dame Lower Hall on Saturday, December 21st from 10AM to 1PM. We have learned that one of our main donors of toys is not able to provide us with donations this year. To ensure that we have enough toys to distribute to every child who attends the Party, we are asking the parish community for donations of new children’s toys for ages 0 to 10 years old. The toys do not need to be gift wrapped and can be placed in designated donation bins at both worship sites on Sunday, December 8th and Sunday, December 15th. In order to sort the toys and prepare them for distribution at the Party, we are asking for donations to come in by Sunday, December 15th. Thank you for any help you can give to bring Christmas joy and magic to children in our community!

The word “Hospitality” means "the warm and generous reception of others.” Hospitality is an occasion of welcome and community. Hospitality seeks to build up the Body of Christ through sharing in fellowship together. Starting Sunday, December 1st, as we enter the Season of Advent and this time of coming together in prayer and community at both worship sites, parishioners from both worship sites are invited and encouraged to serve as Greeters and Ushers before and during 10AM Mass and/or as Servers at after Mass Receptions throughout the Advent and Christmas Seasons. Please prayerfully consider being part of these efforts to extend hospitality during these Holy Seasons, on whichever Sundays and in whatever ways that you are able. As St. Paul wrote, every member of the Body of Christ has something essential to contribute. If you are able to serve in one or more of these Hospitality roles, please contact Jim Bruton at Jim@holyfamilychicago.org.

During Advent & Christmas season, the 9:45 AM liturgy at the Holy Family and the 10:00 AM liturgy at the Notre Dame de Chicago will come together for ONE 10:00 AM Sunday Mass. The combined 10:00 AM Mass will be held at Holy Family on December 1, 15, 29, and January 12, and at Notre Dame de Chicago on December 8, 22, January 5, and 19. All other Masses will be held at the regularly scheduled times. The combined liturgy will provide parishioners the opportunity to come together with Jesus in the celebration of the Eucharist. Transportation will be provided.

Fr. Peter is asking for volunteers to help prepare for Sunday liturgies. The three (3) committees are Communication, Hospitality, and Art/Environment & Music. Each will have specific tasks and responsibilities to ensure that our Sunday celebration our joyous and that the needs of our parishioners respectfully attended to. Kindly sign up for one of the subcommittees below by reaching out to: Communication: Mark Valentino (mark@gazettechicago.org); Hospitality: Jim Bruton (jim@holyfamilychicago.org); Art/Environment & Music: Fran Lamonica (frances.m.lamonica@gmail.com)

Holy Family/Notre Dame de Chicago parish is happy to welcome Sarah Pelrine as the newly appointed Operations Director for the parish. Before coming to HF/ND, Sarah worked in the same position at Mary, Mother of Mercy in West Lawn. She sees the Operations Director as the person who works to ensure that the resources of the parish are used wisely. Sarah is recently married and lives in Chicago. Both her undergraduate and graduate studies were done at the University of Notre Dame. Welcome Sarah and good luck in your new position.

Cardinal Cupich has approved new guidelines designed to assist parishioners and parish staff in the preparation of Masses of Christian Burial. In his Chicago Catholic column, the Cardinal stated, "I am intentionally issuing these guidelines on All Souls' Day, Nov. 2, the day we set aside exclusively to pray for the dead. As such, it serves as a point of reference for all of our rites of Christian burial." Please click on the title link or picture to see the new guidelines.

Remember to set your clocks back one hour as we switch back to Central standard time at 2:00 AM on November 3 or you will be very early for Mass.

Fr. Peter has shared that the parish office will be moving all parish staff and functions out of Holy Family and to Notre Dame de Chicago sometime in November.

Unfortunately, plans to reopen our parish Food Pantry have been delayed. Now that the parish offices will be based at the Notre Dame de Chicago site our ministerial space in Burke Hall opened up. Working with our Food Pantry Ministry we discussed and planned to move our ministry up from Damen Hall into some of the spaces in Burke Hall. However, there are some issues with both the lease and the intentions of the donors on how the space can be used. Fr. Peter will soon meet with representatives of all parties involved to come to understanding and decision.

After not being seen for almost 50 years, the renovation of the beautiful stained glass window of St. John Nepomucene on the east side of the church has been completed. The restoration was done by Daprato Rigali Studios of Chicago. The window, which symbolizes the seal of the confessional, depicts St. John Nepomucene before King Wenceslaus IV, with sword in hand, commanding St. John to tell him what the Queen has confessed. St. John refused to reveal the secret of the confessional and, as a result, was tortured and thrown into the river where he drowned. He is considered a patron saint of the Czech Republic. Additional plaster work and painting will be completed in the near future.

In keeping with its mission, the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women annually provides one four-year renewable scholarship. The recipient should be a young woman graduating from high school and continuing her education in a college or university. The student must belong to a parish in the Archdiocese of Chicago. Please click on the title link or picture for general rules and links to printable letters, including last year’s scholarship essay.

The Annual Mass for Hope and Healing is a safe haven for victim-survivors of clergy sexual abuse, victim-survivors of sexual abuse by adults, family members of victim-survivors, and those who feel betrayed by the inaction and silence of some Church leaders. Join us to show support and pray for all who have suffered and continue to suffer from child and youth sexual abuse on Saturday, October 19 at 11:00. For full story, please click on the title link or picture.

On Sunday, October 13, Chicago will host the 2019 Bank of America Chicago Marathon. The start and finish line areas are both located in Grant Park on Columbus Drive. The 26.2 mile course runs through 29 neighborhoods and will run through the parish, likely impacting your travel route to church. Please plan accordingly and note that the following streets will be closed in sections: Jackson Blvd, Halsted, Taylor, Ashland and Roosevelt. Street closures could begin as early as 6:00 am and the anticipated re-opening time at 4:30 pm. Please click on the title link of picture for more detailed information.

At a meeting of "essential" leaders, and in a September 29, 2019 bulletin announcement, Fr. Peter shared more of his vision and transition plan for the parish. The most significant part of the plan involves the Sunday Mass schedule. Beginning December 1, the first Sunday of Advent, the 9:45 Mass at Holy Family and the 10:00 Mass at Notre Dame will be combined into one Mass to be held at 10:00 alternating between the two churches. On December 1, the 10:00 Mass will be celebrated at Holy Family and on December 8 at Notre Dame. This alternating schedule will continue through the Christmas season and end on January 12, 2020. Transportation will be provided between the two sites. It is hoped that this shared experience will help in the discernment of the next steps the parish will take to build the future. All other Masses will continue at the regularly scheduled times. Fr. Peter also made clear the Cardinal's decree that all Sunday Masses celebrated at Holy Family must cease as of June 30, 2020. Please click on the title link or picture and the September 29 bulletin for more information.

Holy Family/Notre Dame parishioners, together with St. Ignatius College Prep students and faculty, joined to fight hunger in Chicago by walking in the 34th Annual Hunger Walk in Jackson Park on September 7. This year, our 67 walkers joined over 15,000 in the park to raise funds for the Greater Chicago Food Depository. To date, our walkers have raised over $2,300 through direct donations and walker subsidies. A portion of these funds are slated to come back to the Holy Family food pantry. All the walkers hope that the Holy Family food pantry will be open soon after being closed due to flooding in Damen Hall. Donations are still being accepted through September. Please click on the picture or title link to make a contribution.

The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) is a process where you can experience the Catholic faith community. It is an opportunity for questions to be answered and for learning about the teachings and traditions of the Catholic Church. The Christian Initiation process offers a comfortable and welcoming environment of support and guidance as you seek to discover how God is working in you life. Sessions will now be scheduled on Sunday mornings alongside the 9:45 and/or 10am Masses. If you or an adult you know is interested in the RCIA process or have questions, please contact Jim Bruton at jim@holyfamilychicago.org. Please also visit the RCIA webpage by clicking the on title link or picture.

After the last heavy rainstorm in August, Damen Hall flooded and created a major health concern for the food pantry and other activities that use the space. Unfortunately, the Holy Family food pantry will be closed to clients until further notice. Until the situation can be rectified, clients have been referred to another food pantry in the area.

All are invited to participate in a pilgrimage to visit the birth and burial place of Fr. Augustus Tolton; stopping at those sites in and around those places of interest that highlight the life of Father Tolton. Please consider joining the Postulator of the Cause, Bishop Joseph N. Perry, who will be the primary spiritual director of our pilgrimage. The journey as a group starts with a train ride to Quincy, IL, where the group will travel to different sites that were significant in Father Augustus Tolton’s life of service to the Church. Join us as we strive to educate, engage and evangelize! The pilgrimage will start with train ride departing from Union Station at 7:40 a.m. on Friday, September 13 and conclude with a train leaving from Quincy at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, September 15, 2019. To register, please click on the title link or picture.

Father John Fahey-Guerra, C.Ss.R., a Redemptorist missionary priest, will be speaking this weekend about the vital work being done by Redemptorist missionary priests and brothers in Brazil and Nigeria. Father John was born and grew up in Omaha, NE. He was ordained a Redemptorist priest in 1996 and has served in various ministries: as a formation director for Redemptorist theology students; in parishes in Colorado and Kansas; and in leadership for the Denver Province. His confreres recently re-elected him to serve as Provincial Vicar for the 2019-2023 term. Kindly welcome Father John and please give you attention to this important appeal.

Fr. Vu and Fr. Jado made history of sorts this morning here at Holy Family, for it’s almost 159 years ago to the day when another immigrant Jesuit priest, Dutch-born Father Arnold Damen, the founding pastor of Holy Family and first president of St. Ignatius College, celebrated Mass at the dedication of this historic church on August 26, 1860! And, coming full circle, Fr. Vu today becomes the first Jesuit priest in nearly 25 years to preside going forward at our regularly scheduled 9:45 a.m. Sunday Mass here at Holy Family! Parishioners will also see Fr. Jado celebrate Mass as he, too, is working on his degree in business (Human Resources) at Loyola University of Chicago. Both priests will be helping Fr. Peter celebrate Mass on the weekend in the parish.