Letter from Fr. Jerry Jacob Regarding New School Leadership Appointment

Dear Saint Francis de Sales Parish community, 

As the temporary administrator of your parish, I wanted to add my congratulations and best wishes to both Kyle Schmitt and Mary Keller. 

It is bittersweet to say goodbye to Kyle Schmitt. Kyle has been a wonderful school Principal and, during his tenure, has made many contributions to the St. Francis de Sales Parish School. Kyle has led the school to its second Blue Ribbon Award, put the school on a path to financial sustainability, increased school enrollment, improved overall programing including new writing and middle school math curriculum adoptions, launched the school’s aftercare program, and has guided the school safely during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

While Kyle’s departure was unexpected, I want to thank him for his great service to the parish school and community of Saint Francis, and offer my prayers for him and his growing family as he begins a new role as President of Notre Dame High School in Chattanooga Tennessee. May God’s Blessing be upon them in this time of transition. 

St. Francis de Sales Parish School is very blessed to have many great teachers and two excellent Assistant Principals. I would like to add my name to the long list of those congratulating Mary Keller on her appointment as the new Principal of the St. Francis de Sales Parish School. 

Mary has an impeccable resume, was a highly sought-after candidate for Principal at several Archdiocese schools, has a master’s degree in mathematics, and has worked closely with Kyle Schmitt and Fr. Ryan over the past several years. An important consideration from my vantage point is that Mary’s heart is here at Saint Francis de Sales Parish. She has expressed to me her love for Christ and for this parish community. Her commitment to Catholic education is evident from her dedication to our school community for many years. 

Please know that I, along with Fr. Ryan and parish leadership, followed a selection and interview process in conjunction with, and endorsed by, the Archdiocese of Chicago Office of Catholic Schools. The parish leaders, including me, who interviewed Mary for the position of Principal unanimously recommended her. 

At this time while Fr. Ryan has been asked to step aside from the parish, we are grateful for the stability and continuity that Mary brings to our parish school. Fr. Ryan and I could not be more pleased with Mary’s selection as Principal and wish her all the best in her new position. 

Let us pray for one another, 

Fr. Jerry Jacob Temporary Administrator Dean Vicariate 1-A 

WELCOME TO ST. FRANCIS DE SALES PARISH!

We look forward to seeing you back in church 

Please register at www.stfrancislzparish.org and join us for our scheduled indoor Masses: 5 pm Saturday Vigil, 6:30 am Sunday, 9:00 am Sunday (also Live-streamed on our Youtube and Facebook channels) Tune into Comcast 4 and U-verse 99 for a rebroadcast of our Mass Sunday at 12:30 pm. 

We also offer a unique outdoor parking lot Mass. No registration necessary! 

11:15 am Sunday – West Parking Lot - behind the School/Church. Remain in your parked car and participate as our priest celebrates Mass from the altar on a raised truck platform. Mass is broadcast to your car radio 89.9 FM. You are able to receive Holy Communion as the Eucharist is brought to each car. 

Other weekday opportunities include: 

Daily Mass: Noon on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, & Fridays. Please note our School Mass at 1 pm on Wednesdays. No registration is required. We also stream daily Mass on our Facebook and YouTube channels. Communion Service: 8 am Tuesdays and Thursdays 

Prayer experiences including Parish Mission, Scripture study and healing services. We continue to work on exciting new opportunities for you to stay connected to God and to each other. Please check our website frequently for current events. 

Ministry Center and Fr. Valker Hall are still closed until further notice. For scheduling funerals or sacraments of Baptism, Matrimony, Confession or Anointing of the Sick please call Parish Office at (847)438-6622. 

We pray that as the number of those vaccinated increases over the next few months, positivity and death rates in our state, which have been rising will significantly decrease. These rates determine state and Archdiocesan mandated guidelines regarding safety protocol and capacity limits that we must follow. We need to remain vigilant and continue to adhere to current public health and Archdiocesan guidelines including masking, distancing, capacity limits and hand sanitizing. 

We are at a critical tipping point in our fight against this virus. If we stay the course for another few months, following the state and Archdiocese guidelines, we can really knock this virus back for the good of all. And once we see a trend of significant decline in positivity rates, we are hopeful and excited that the state and Archdiocese will safely expand capacity limits and ease other restrictions. In the meantime, let’s love our neighbor as Jesus asks of us and continue to do our part to keep everyone safe. 

Keeping our church safe for all, requires a huge volunteer commitment. In order to keep our church doors open, we need adequate help. We have a very dedicated and joyful pool of volunteers, but we can always use more. If you would like to ensure that we can continue to safely keep our church open and at our capacity limit, please visit our website to sign up to volunteer.