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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.

The new school year is fast approaching, so it is time to enroll student's in Holy Family/Notre Dame de Chicago's Religious Education program. Through the cooperative efforts of parents/guardians and volunteer catechists, the young people in our program grow in their knowledge and understanding of their Catholic faith and in their awareness of being loved by God and called to serve others in Christ’s name. Through their participation in Religious Education, they will be introduced and included into the liturgical life of the parish community. A parent/guardian orientation program will be held on September 15 with classes beginning on September 22. The cost is $100, and all classes will be held at Notre Dame de Chicago. Please click on the picture or title link to register.

Chicago Catholic writer, Michelle Martin, offers a thoughtful piece on the mass shootings in El Paso & Dayton. The article echos the frustration that as the list of cities and towns experiencing mass shootings across America grows, little action is taken to stem the violence. To read the entire article, please click on the title link or picture.

Holy Family/Notre Dame parish welcomes Fr. Tho Vu, S.J. who will be helping Fr. Peter with the Sunday Mass schedule. Fr. Tho was ordained in 2018, and is pursuing a medical degree in the Chicagoland area. Fr. Tho was born in Bien Hoa, Vietnam. At the age of 6 he and his family immigrated to Omaha, Nebraska, where they were members of Holy Name Parish, and Tho later enrolled at Creighton University. While earning a bachelor’s degree in emergency medicine as a paramedic, he worked in the medical school library and was a lab technician at Creighton University Medical Center. A special thank you to Fr. Brian Paulsen, S.J., Provincial of the Midwest Province, for assigning Fr. Tho to the parish. Please extend Fr. Tho a warm Holy Family/Notre Dame welcome! For Fr. Tho's complete bio, please click on the YouTube video at the top of the page, or on the title link or picture of this article.

A big thank you to Fr. Kurt Boras for stepping in to help with the Sunday Mass schedule. Fr. Kurt, who was on sabbatical from his assignment in Lemont at St. Patrick's, is a friend of Fr. Peter's and was a tremendous help as the transition to the new parish began. We wish him well as he returns to St. Pat's as the parish begins the Renew My Church process.

In his Sunday homily at Holy Family, Fr. Peter reiterated his comments from the Transition Team meeting that Masses will continue at Holy Family for the foreseeable future. This news was welcomed by Holy Family parishioners with applause and relief, as parishioners have worked hard to maintain a Sunday presence at Holy Family. In addition, Fr. Peter stated that an archdiocesan priest will be helping with duties till August, at which time a newly ordained Jesuit priest will take over an assist with the Mass schedule.

On July 1, the parishes of Holy Family and Notre Dame de Chicago merged to become one parish. Holy Family welcomes the opportunity to work with our brothers and sisters at Notre Dame de Chicago to continue to build on the legacy of these two historic and important churches in Chicago. For now, Masses will be held at both churches. "Sunday Mass will continue at Holy Family Church at 9:45 a.m. and 5 p.m. Our doors will continue to be open wide for all,” Odell Gordon, who has served as President of Holy Family’s Parish Council for the past many years, said in his concluding announcements at the Sunday, June 30 Mass.

Members of the Comiskey family were thrilled to be welcomed as visitors at Holy Family’s June 30 Mass. “ Visitors” may be somewhat of a misnomer, for the Comiskey family members, former Illinois State Representative Patti Bellock , her daughter, Dorothy, and sister, Mary Sharon Rigney Kellens, are direct descendents of Alderman “Honest John” Comiskey, President of the Chicago City Council, who was a close collaborator of Fr. Arnold Damen, S.J. According to the 1923 parish history, “ Holy Family—Priests and People,” by Br. Thomas Mulkerins, S.J., in 1857, John Comiskey walked the streets of the teeming Irish neighborhood where Fr. Damen planned to build his church and asked for contributions. He is memorialized in one of the large 12-foot round clerestory windows high atop Holy Family church that are the oldest stained glass in the city of Chicago, dating to 1860. John’s son, Charles Comiskey, a former St. Louis Browns first baseman and founder of the Chicago Whlte Sox, was baptized in Holy Family on August 19, 1859, the year before the church was dedicated. He was one of the 37-students to enroll in Fr. Damen’s new St. Ignatius College (now St. Ignatius College Prep) when the Jesuit-sponsored school, the forerunner of Loyola University Chicago, opened September 5, 1870.

The Golden Wedding Anniversary Mass will be celebrated by Cardinal Cupich on Sunday, September 8, 2019 at 2:45 p.m. The Mass will be held at St. John Brebeuf in Niles. For more information and to register for the event, please click on the picture or title link.

Services will be on Monday, July 8, 2019, at St. Eulalia Catholic Church in Maywood. Sharing of Memories will begen at 10:00 AM followed immediately by the Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00 AM. The Rite of Committal and Burial will be at Mount Carmel, Dubuque, Iowa, at a later date. Memorials may be given to Sisters of Charity, BVM Support Fund, 1100 Carmel Drive, Dubuque, IA 52003. Please click on Sister's picture to make an online donation.