News - May 2022

We all need time off to recharge and refresh. Enjoy your respite from your usual work and then plan to rejoin our parish community with a new sense of joy and wonder at God’s gifts to us.

Dear Queen of All Saints Parish - I am honored to be your new associate pastor, as my time with all of you will officially begin on Friday, July 1st, 2022. I am eager to join your pastor, Fr. Simon Braganza and your wonderful parish and school staff to continue the mission of the Church.

It is clear from the accounts in the New Testament that there were certain highpoints that captured the imagination of Jesus’ disciples in a way that they would willingly have stood still, those occasions when they probably asked “Why can’t it always be like this?”

The image below shows how our parish campus looked in 1955, when all our buildings had been erected except for the new church. Doesn’t it look and feel like something very essential in our lives is missing?

Cash Raffle Grand Prize - Carlos Castillo 2nd Prize - Trish Mesch 3rd Prize - Yadira Avalos 4th Prize - Lazaro Magdariaga. Click for more...

On May 13, a hot Friday evening in the middle of spring, over 400 parishioners, friends and visitors gathered at Chateau Ritz to celebrate our community, to have fun and to raise funds that will enable us to continue our mission of strengthening the Church through the ministries of Word, Worship and Service.

Youth Ministry will be collecting empty pill containers for Matthew 25: Ministries in Ohio. This organization works to keep pill bottles out of landfills by recycling or donating them to third world countries where they can be reused.

Remember how the basilica ceiling looked in 2017? We know that the last few years have been especially trying times for our parish finances from a major capital repair perspective. We were faced with the sudden and unexpected need to replace the basilica ceiling during 2017/2018, and then to make more extensive than expected repairs to the bell tower during 2019/2020.

The QASRE program begins at kindergarten and goes through eighth grade. Our program focuses on building a relationship with Christ as your children grow in their discipleship. Students wanting to participate in the sacraments of first reconciliation, first Communion and confirmation must attend a minimum of two years of religious education as per the archdiocesan requirement. First reconciliation and Communion preparation begins at 1st grade. Confirmation preparation begins at 7th grade.  

As many of you may know, Muslims observe Ramadan, a full month of daytime fasting from sunrise to sunset. Our new Afghan neighbors followed this observance through the month of May and recently the three families celebrated the end of Ramadan, which was May 2. Traditionally, the families would celebrate for 3-7 days after the end of their fasting period, meeting friends and other families at restaurants or their homes...

It’s here - May, the month in which the earth springs into bloom (at least in Chicago) and we start thinking about planting gardens, family picnics and making vacation plans. It’s also the Month of Mary, the Queen of All Saints, the patroness of our parish. Consider providing for the future needs of our parish in your estate planning.

Happy Mother's Day letter and support of Catholic Charities.

Happy Mother’s Day! Every culture and nation honors mothers in a particular way. It is because we know instinctively the gift of a mother. It is she who carried us in her womb, our first home, before we were offered to our family and to the world.