The Prostate Cancer Foundation of Chicago's 2nd Annual Charity Golf Classic is set for Monday, July 22, 2019 at Seven Bridges Golf Course in Woodridge, IL. Proceeds from this event help nonprofit PCFC promote prostate cancer awareness through monthly informational support group meetings, free prostate cancer screenings, community and professional education, and publication of clinical research findings. Early bird pricing is available until June 14. For more information and to register, please click on the title link or picture.

Holy Family parishioners and friends where excited to welcome back Deacon Dave Keene. In his remarks at the 9:45 Mass, Deacon Dave shared how he suffered a heart attack while presiding over a wedding several weeks ago. Fr. Mike asked the congregation to pray for Deacon Dave as he received the sacrament of the anointing of the sick to comfort him as he prepares for bypass surgery this week. Please keep Deacon Dave in your thoughts and prayers, and we wish him a speedy recovery.

The 2019 Greater Chicago Food Depository Hunger Walk returns to Jackson Park on Saturday, September 7, 2019. More information and online registration will be available beginning in June. The event is a great fundraiser for the Food Pantry, so please support us in whatever way you can.

Transition team members from Holy Family and Notre Dame met with our new pastor, Fr. Peter McQuinn, to share information about each of the current parishes and to begin the conversation on transitioning to a single parish. It was also an opportunity for Fr. Peter to share his ideas and vision with those in attendance. Holy Family team members continued to advocate for a Sunday Mass at Holy Family after the merger takes place on July 1 to help the assure that the new parish has a stronger base from which to grow. While it seems likely that a Sunday Mass will continue at Holy Family during the transition, Fr. Peter seemed less certain, based on the Cardinal's Decree, that Sunday Mass will continue after this undefined period of time. The focus will now be on the transition, and the many details that are necessary to the operation of the parish. Be assured that Holy Family team members will continue to work with the team and Fr. Peter to show the benefit to the new parish of maintaining a Sunday Mass and presence at Holy Family.

Parishioners and friends of Holy Family joined with Fr. Mike on May 19 as he celebrated 35 years of dedicated and faithful service to the Archdiocese of Chicago. Holy Family is grateful to Fr. Mike for his warm and comforting pastoral skills in ministering to our diverse community. He has also been a beacon of courage and tenacity as we have fought to keep a Sunday Mass at Holy Family. We thank Fr. Mike for his inspirational leadership and devotion to our parish and congratulate him on this milestone.

Heavenly Father, from the beginning you have chosen to entrust the human person to mothers in a special way. We thank and praise you for the gift of mothers; for their tenderness, care, and compassion, for their intuition and encouragement, for commitment and sacrifice. Bless all mothers this day. Keep, strengthen, and refresh them in your loving care. May they be blessed by our openhearted love and gratitude. Amen.

Many parishioners have asked that their personal information not be submitted to the newly merged parish of Holy Family and Notre Dame de Chicago if Sunday Mass will no longer be offered at Holy Family. If you do not wish to have your contact information shared with the new parish, please click on the title link or picture to complete an online request. You may also contact the Parish Office at 312.492.8442.

On a beautiful spring morning, 33 children of the parish were welcomed to the table of the Lord celebrating their First Communion. A full church of proud parents, grandparents, and other family members smiled throughout the Mass as the children were blessed in receiving this joyous sacrament. During his homily, Fr Mike reflected on his own First Communion with humor and told communicants and parents that this should be the first of many to come. Special thanks to our teachers, Virginia Clayton, Jerilynn Young, Cynthia Holden, Jacque Hale, and Jim Bruton.

Fr. Mike presided over the 8th Annual Prayer Service for Child Abuse Prevention and Pinwheel Planting in the Healing Garden and brought smiles to the students as he told them that they are all "celebrities." Students from St. Mary of the Woods and St. Angela schools listened attentively as Michael Hoffman, clergy abuse survivor and chairman of the Hope and Healing Committee for the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Office of the Protection of Children and Youth (OPCY) shared his story, and told students what they should do if they find themselves in a difficult situation. Students from St. Ignatius College Prep added great beauty to the service with their voices of support. The service ended with the traditional planting of pinwheels, the symbol of national child abuse prevention.