Bulletin Board with News and Events

Holy Name Cathedral parishioners are very generous to Catholic Charities. I am certain that the amount of money collected in this weekend’s post Communion basket will do great things to fund the basic Christian work done by Catholic Charities in the name of all Catholics in Chicago. I am proud of our parish’s association with Catholic Charities. If you forgot to bring your contribution this weekend, please take a Catholic Charities envelope home and return it in the basket next weekend, or return it to the rectory office. I will be sure that your gift gets added to the Cathedral’s support of Catholic Charities. The Mothers Day collection is an annual source of funding for Charities. Donations, however, are gratefully accepted year around. Join us in renewing our concern for those severed by Catholic Charities.

Next Saturday, May 19 here at Holy Name Cathedral, fourteen men will be ordained by Cardinal George to Priesthood in the Archdiocese of Chicago. Already, they have been assigned to parishes where they have been serving as deacons. Beginning July 1, they will assume full duties as associate pastors of the Archdiocese. I welcome my fourteen brothers to the altar, invite each of them to return to their Cathedral to be the main celebrant at a Mass in the near future, and ask you to pray for them. Admission to the ordination Mass will be by ticket only. The tickets are distributed by Mundelein Seminary, not by the Cathedral. I understand that all the tickets already have been distributed. However, first blessings are open to all. If you would like to receive one of the first blessings of the newly ordained, come to the Cathedral around 12:30 – 12:45pm when the Mass should be ending. You will be welcome to receive the graces of a blessing of a new priest, from a hand still dripping with the consecrating oils. Wherever you may be Saturday, pray for Father Ladislaus Mkwenda Anatoly; Father Marcin Bulinski; Father Krzysztof Dominik Ciaston; Father Jorge Estrada Arroyo; Father Juan Carlos Gavancho Hurtado; Father Martin Ibarra De Lara; Father Krzysztof Kulig; Father Jesus Eduardo Martinez; Father Charles Elias Musula; Father George Oruko Omwando; Father Robert Pajor; Father Sande Michael Odour; Father Michael Scherschel; and Father Patrick Mwendia Wangai.

There will be no 12:10pm Mass next Saturday, May 19. Because of the priesthood ordination Mass that begins at 10:00am and lasts through the early afternoon, there will be no midday Mass offered next Saturday at Holy Name Cathedral. I think that’s the only day, Monday through Saturday, that no 12:10pm Mass is offered.

Just about every week, I field a question about Father Paul Stein’s leaving Holy Name to become Pastor of St. Sylvester’s Church in the Logan Square neighborhood. His last weekend here will be June 16-17. There are plans to say farewell at that Sunday’s Coffee-in-the-Courtyard. No one has been appointed to take Father Stein’s spot as full-time Associate Pastor and as Cathedral Liturgy Director. However, I am hopeful that someone will be named soon. For now, say prayers for our parish and for Father Paul.

My niece Katie graduates this weekend from St. Ambrose University in Davenport. She hopes to go to work in the Chicago area as an early childhood teacher. Of course, she and I both are connected to St. Ambrose University. She has the well-earned diploma. I have the honor of being the successor of the man who founded her school. Bishop John McMullen established St. Ambrose College in 1882 as a seminary and as a school of commerce. (My niece would not have passed the physical; it was a men’s college.) The first bishop of Davenport, McMullen was ordained a bishop on July 25, 1881, in Holy Name Cathedral where he had served as our Cathedral’s first rector. He was Number One; I am Number Nine. In this season of commencement, let’s congratulate all graduates, especially those connected to Holy Name Cathedral. To all of you and to my niece, I say, “Nice work.”

DeLaSalle Institute is a proud Chicago South Side high school founded in 1889 by the Christian Brothers. Their website speaks of a diverse student body - from throughout Chicago and approximately 20 surrounding suburbs representing all ethnic, racial, economic and religious groups: 49 percent Caucasian, 33 percent African-American, 16 percent Hispanic-American, 2 percent Pacific Asian-American, 24% non-Catholic. That diversity reflects Chicago and lets DLS fulfill its mission to offer a Catholic education not only to the select, but also to those who are willing to work for it. In 1992, DLS added a women’s campus in Bridgeport in collaboration with the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Third Order of St. Francis. Holy Name Cathedral will be proud to welcome the men on Wednesday this week and the women on Thursday for their graduation Masses and Commencement ceremonies. Congratulations, DeLaSalle graduates!

Last weekend, members of the Cathedral’s Parish Pastoral Council spoke after Communion about the need to find 35 volunteers from among the registered parishioners to step up to leadership positions on the Council, or on one of its Commissions which organize the many activities sponsored by Holy Name. The Commissions are Parish Life; Evangelization & Spiritual Life; Human Concerns; and Adult Education. One-third of the Council and of each Commission completes their terms each summer. New names are needed to fill their spots. You can submit your name after looking over the information on page 6 of this bulletin. Two of the present Council or Commission members will interview you about your interest. Based on the recommendations from those interviews, I hope to be able to name you to one of those lay leadership roles. In cooperation with the parish Staff, the lay volunteer leadership offers me advice in administering the parish and in setting our goals. I rely on these volunteers very much. I am grateful for not only the number but the quality of the lay leaders in our parish. To continue the ministry of Holy Name Cathedral parish, we need people like you. Please say a prayer; then volunteer for a three-year term as one of the Cathedral’s lay leaders.

Fr. Dan Mayall