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Every fall, Catholic Churches in Chicago take the “October Count”, statistics involving how many attend weekend Masses in Chicago Churches. October is chosen for the count because there are no weekend holidays, fewer folks are away, usually there is no extreme weather, and school is in session. In our area, there is the dilemma of the Chicago Marathon that blocks off several streets and prevents folks from getting to and from the Cathedral and several other Churches on the designated weekend. Still, we are comparing apples to apples. The Marathon is run every October. This October, our ushers counted a total of 18,181 people at the October Masses; that’s an average of 4,545 each weekend. This year our best attended Mass was the 5:15pm on Saturday (929 average) followed by the 9:30am on Sunday (843), the 11:00am on Sunday (754), and the Sunday 5:15pm (720). We regularly sample our congregations and know that about 2/3 of our weekend attendance represents visitors – from elsewhere in Chicago, from all over the United States (the biggest group), and from all over the world. In the past three years, our parish’s October Count has remained about even from year to year.
Most regulars at Holy Name are aware that we are about to embark on an ambitious capital campaign to cover delayed maintenance; to make the Cathedral and its restrooms accessible to the disabled; to improve at least the office areas in the rectory; to establish an endowment to fund future maintenance issues; to redesign the courtyard in an attractive way beneficial to all who regularly use it and take care of it – special events, liturgy, FXW School, the parish life commission, and maintenance (we already have $400,000 from the Sharing Christ’s Gifts campaign); and to design a chapel exclusively for the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. The required maintenance already has begun with the new boilers installed in the Cathedral basement and the farewell to the old boilers that formerly sent heat from the garages east of our block, under Wabash, and to all the Cathedral campus. The new boilers are supposed to be turned on for the first time this week. Next is a mighty project that will change the interior appearance of the Cathedral for the good. However, it will take some patience during the early weeks of 2007. Beginning January 2, all the Cathedral’s pews will be removed and shipped to a warehouse in Wisconsin where they will be sanded, re-stained, and repaired. Meanwhile, all the carpeting in the Cathedral will be removed. On the weekends of January and until Lent begins, we will offer weekend Masses with the congregation in portable chairs. Each weekend, a different sector of the Cathedral will be unavailable as the work progresses. Daily morning Masses will be moved to the chapel, the afternoon Masses to the Club Room. Funerals will be offered either in the chapel or at a neighboring parish. Anticipating the construction possibility, we scheduled no weddings on the first seven weekends of 2007. More specifics on those matters will be provided later in December. Our schedule calls for a beautiful new terrazzo floor to be in place and the pews will return by the weekend of February 17/18. Furthermore, there will be a ramp constructed leading from the main floor to the sanctuary allowing those in wheel chairs access to the area around the altar for the first time in our history. Holy Name Cathedral will look and will sound like a new place. Already we have the money on deposit for the flooring. The parish Finance Council and the Cathedral staff have been wonderful organizing these plans and supporting them. We look ahead to the other projects as the capital campaign develops. The necessary maintenance will continue. For now, please, be patient.
Holy Name Cathedral sponsors the Thursday Suppers at Catholic Charities, a hot meal for those who need one along with the friendly care of our volunteers working the meal. Funding the Thursday Suppers has been an issue. Now there is a way for you to make a contribution and to get for yourself in exchange a wonderful, genuine, custom-made-for-the-Cathedral, 24-karat Chicago treasure. Chicago’s own The Ides of March with an assist from Chicago radio legend Dick Biondi from Chicago’s True Oldies station 94.7-FM have produced a four-number CD for the Christmas season and offered all the profits to the Cathedral’s Thursday Suppers. For a $10-donation, you’ll get your CD including three songs performed by The Ides of March – “Sharing Christmas”; “All Join Hands”; and a piece written by the Ides’ lead singer and Grammy award winner Jim Peterik together with the Ides’ keyboardist Scott May specifically for Holy Name Cathedral, “A Distant Trumpet.” In addition, the familiar, truly Chicago voice of Dick Biondi with musical accompaniment by The Ides of March reads a piece I wrote for Holy Name entitled “The Five Snowflakes.” The Ides of March are eight Chicago area guys who play neighborhood and suburban community summertime festivals and other events featuring their national rock and roll hits “Vehicle” and “LA Goodbye”, local hits like “You Wouldn’t Listen”, and cover versions of songs, many of which were written by their lead-singer Jim Peterik for 1980s rock groups 38-Special (“Hold On Loosely”) and Survivor (“Eye of the Tiger”, “High On You”, “The Search Is Over”) of which Jim was a member. The Ides include all four of the original, 1965 members (they were high school kids), a one-and-only feature in the rock and roll world. Dick Biondi’s voice first was heard in Chicago at WLS, 1960-1963; came back to WCFL in 1967 until 1972; worked briefly at WBBM-FM before 22 years on former Oldies giant WJMK. On November 5, he happily landed at WZZN-FM, True Oldies 94.7, where he broadcasts Monday through Friday from 9PM until Midnight and from which he will conduct his fifteenth annual Christmas toy drive during a 32-hour on-the-air marathon from the Yorktown Shopping Center in Lombard December 8 & 9. More good news? Dick Biondi and The Ides of March will be at Holy Name Cathedral to help me celebrate the 6:00PM Mass on Christmas Eve. Four of The Ides helped me last year at the 4:00 Christmas Eve Mass; I am really happy they asked if they could come again. The CD should be available in the Cathedral Book and Gift Store next weekend. If it’s not there yet, come back following week; or check out The Ides’ website – www.theidesofmarch.com. It is only $10. All $10 will go to the Thursday Suppers at Catholic Charities served by Holy Name Cathedral. The Ides of March and Dick Biondi are making this a gift. Why don’t you make it a gift to all your friends at Christmas? Only $10! I cannot imagine a better stocking stuffer for a Cathedral parishioner to give. Hurry – there are a limited number of CDs. There are even fewer because I bought mine already. Help the Thursday Suppers by Sharing Christmas, available at the Cathedral Book Store and at www.theidesofmarch.com December 1st.
Next week, Advent. Christ is coming. That’s for certain. Are you ready? Fr. Dan Mayall |
