Virtual Bulletin
get the scoop on the latest going-ons at our parish
This survey is a great way to reflect on your own spiritual growth while helping our parish plan for the future.
Please help us by completing this short, 10-15 minute survey. Visit https://portal.catholicleaders.org/dmi/survey/gbd3kg or scan the code below.
We will also have paper copies in the gathering space and parish office.
This survey is available starting Ash Wednesday until March 31st, 2023
Thank you!
Our parish is hosting our annual Totus Tuus Summer camp from June 17th-23rd. This camp is facilitated by four college-aged missionaries who are giving of their summer in the service of Jesus Christ. While they are here at the parish, we are in need of two families willing to host them in their homes (one for the men and one for the women).
If you are willing to host or would like more information please contact the Religious Education office at religiouseducation@stfrancislz.org or at 847.726.4850.
Please Make Your Gift to the 2023 Annual Catholic Appeal - Father Merold will be preaching on this year's Annual Catholic Appeal at all the Masses the next two weekends. Let us join together on Walking this road with Jesus, our Good Shepherd. Thank you.
Many families in our parish will be receiving the Annual Catholic Appeal mailing from Cardinal Cupich. On behalf of those served by the ministries, parishes, and schools that receive funding from the Appeal, we thank you for your gifts. Please return your response as soon as possible. The Annual Catholic Appeal offers a wonderful opportunity to answer the call "Walking on the road with Jesus." In addition to providing for ministries and services throughout the archdiocese, the Appeal also funds services that are of great help here in our parish.
As we contemplate God's many gifts to us, we should also reflect on our gratitude. Your financial support for the work of our parish, our archdiocese, and the Church throughout the world is one way to express this gratitude. Please give what you can to the 2023 Annual Catholic Appeal. Thank you!
Mid-life Singles (mid-30s to 50s): Are you looking for a renewed sense of purpose & belonging? Register today for a life-changing REFLECT weekend retreat at the Joseph and Mary Retreat House (formerly Cardinal Stritch Retreat House) in Mundelein, IL (in the northern suburbs), on March 3-5, 2023. Take a chance and get involved... you won't regret it! Cost is $285 for meals and a single room. Visit www.ReflectRetreat.com, e-mail reflect.chicagoland@gmail.com, or call (630) 222-8303 for details.
Dear Parishioners of St. Francis de Sales Parish,
I am writing with upsetting news. Yesterday the Archdiocese received two allegations of sexual abuse of a minor against Fr. David Ryan. As is the case with all such matters, the archdiocese will report these allegations to civil authorities and offer assistance to the persons who made them. In keeping with our policies, I have asked Father Ryan to step aside until our Independent Review Board can investigate the allegations and present its recommendations to me. He has agreed to cooperate fully with our process, which will move forward as expeditiously as possible. We will provide Fr. Ryan with pastoral assistance, and I know he is grateful for your support.
We have appreciated your patience with this process in the past and your understanding that only with an impartial and thorough effort can we fulfill our duty to protect the young people in our care and, if the investigation warrants, restore the good name of the one so accused.
Please know I am keeping all of you in my prayers as we complete this process. I hope you will join me in praying for everyone involved in the work of protecting children.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Archbishop of Chicago
Revival’s in the Air
AN EXCITING JOURNEY AHEAD
You are invited to join Catholics in our diocese by participating in a nationwide movement to grow
into a deeper understanding and devotion of the holy Eucharist. This movement of Catholics, called Eucharistic Revival, is about healing, conversion, formation, and becoming a unified Body of Christ
by focusing on encountering the real Body of Christ, present to us in the Eucharist. To learn more about the movement visit www.eucharisticrevival.org.
Are you an adult who missed receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation? Preparation for Confirmation for Vicariate I parishioners will be offered weekly on Mondays beginning Monday, September 12, 2022 from 7-9pm, at St. Edna Parish, 2525 N. Arlington Heights Rd. in Arlington Heights. Bishop Jeffrey Grob will preside at the Confirmation Mass to be held at St. Edna Parish, Arlington Heights, on Wednesday, November 9th, 2022 at 7:00 p.m.
Information and a registration form can be found at www.vic1chicago.org/adult-confirmation or by contacting Lorie Crepeau at lcrepeau@stedna.org, (847) 398-3362, ext. 325.
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling end Dobbs versus Jackson Women's Health Organization, which overturns the Court’s tragic 1973 decision that removed legal protection for unborn children. We welcome this important ruling and the opportunity it creates for a national conversation on protecting human life in the womb and promoting human dignity at all stages of life. This moment should serve as a turning point in our dialogue about the place an unborn child holds in our nation, about our responsibility to listen to women and support them through pregnancies and after the birth of their children, and about the need to refocus our national priorities to support families, particularly those in need.
The Catholic Church brings to such a conversation the conviction that every human life is sacred, that every single person is made in the image and likeness of God and therefore deserving of reverence and protection. That belief is the reason the Catholic Church is the country's largest provider of social services, many aimed at eliminating the systemic poverty and health care insecurity that traps families in a cycle of hopelessness and limit authentic choice.
We also come to this dialogue as Americans, knowing that the principle that all human beings are endowed by the Creator with certain inalienable rights is enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, and that first among these is the right to life.
Make no mistake, because this ruling regrettably will have little impact on abortion in Illinois, as there are virtually no restrictions here, we will continue to advocate strongly for legal protections for unborn children. And we will redouble our efforts to work with all to build a culture that values the inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all.
This ruling is not the end of the journey, but rather a fresh start. It underscores the need to understand those who disagree with us, and to inculcate an ethic of dialogue and cooperation. Let us begin by examining our national conscience, taking stock of these dark places in our society and in our hearts that turn to violence and deny the humanity of our brothers and sisters, and get to work building up the common good by choosing life.
I have been watching the news in horror as at least 6 are dead and many more were wounded after a gunman opened fire as families attended an Independence Day parade in Highland Park. What should have been a peaceful celebration of our nation’s founding ended in unspeakable tragedy.
Please join me in praying for the victims and their loved ones, who never imagined a July 4 celebration could become a killing ground. Pray too for the safety of first responders as they pursue the person responsible for this tragedy. They bravely rushed into the danger to treat victims and to protect others from harm.
The parade reportedly had a heavy presence of police and fire vehicles, yet this shooter was able to wound at least two dozen people before he stopped, or was stopped, and fled. Victims ranged in age from 8 to 85. Weapons designed to rapidly destroy human bodies have no place in civil society.
It is barely July, and this year the United States is already experiencing more than one mass shooting a day. Chicago Police reported at least 55 shot and 7 killed since Friday, and the holiday weekend is not yet over. Gun violence is now the leading cause of death for U.S. children.
Whatever one makes of the right to bear arms, there is plenty of room for prudential judgment in interpreting the Second Amendment so as to enact serious, broadly popular gun-safety measures. The Senate finally passed a significant, yet modest, gun-safety bill last month. But clearly more must be done.
The right to bear arms does not eclipse the right to life, or the right of all Americans to go about their lives free of the fear that they might be shredded by bullets at any moment. Gun violence is a life issue. We must continue to pray that all our officials, elected and unelected alike, will redouble their commitment to keeping safe the people they have sworn to serve.
Pope Francis wrote to the people of Chicagoland in 2016: “As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, humanity ‘must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.’ I urge all people, especially young men and women, to respond to Dr. King's prophetic words and know that a culture of nonviolence is not an unattainable dream, but a path that has produced decisive results.”
May the Lord of mercy embrace in love those who have died, bring healing to the wounded, comfort to their loved ones, and courage to all of us, so that we may respond to this tragedy united as God’s children to build a path to safety and peace.
Let’s start our Advent journey with message of our Shepard and join him to pray the Advent prayer daily – prayer attached
September 9, 2021
Dear Parishioners of St. Francis de Sales Parish,
Last November, I informed you of an accusation against your pastor, Father David F. Ryan, and that, in keeping with our procedures, he was asked to step aside from his pastoral duties until a thorough investigation and process could be completed. He has fully cooperated with civil authorities and the Archdiocese of Chicago during these months.
Following the determination by state officials, who are charged with the protection of minors, that the allegation of child abuse was unfounded, the Independent Review Board of the Archdiocese of Chicago investigated the allegations in accordance with our usual procedures.
At their meeting on Saturday, August 21, 2021, they found there was insufficient reason to suspect Father Ryan had committed sexual abuse of a minor. Therefore, I am pleased to inform you that I am reinstating Father Ryan as your pastor effective immediately.
These have been difficult days and months for you as a parish. You have shown great patience as each jurisdiction completed its process. I thank you for doing so. Father Ryan has also suffered, as you well know, but he has offered that suffering freely, convinced of the need for us as a Church to keep our word that the protection and safety of our children remains the priority.
After the Independent Review Board meeting, I immediately contacted Father Ryan and shared the recommendations of the Review Board. He took the occasion to reaffirm his longstanding conviction that the Church must remain vigilant in protecting our children, and that we should spare no effort to bring healing to victim survivors who have been harmed. In keeping with the spirit he has demonstrated during these difficult months, he let me know that he fully embraces our longstanding policies and practices regarding the conduct of all church personnel, and asked that I take the occasion of this letter to remind our parishioners and the public that: 1) since 1992, we have enforced safe environment protocols and a code of conduct for all who work with minors and we have reached out to victims with pastoral and personal attention; 2) since 2002 we have reported all allegations to the civil authorities and in that year we reported all historical allegations to these authorities; 3) beginning in 2006, we have publicly listed the names of priests who have substantiated allegations of abuse of minors against them and in 2014 we published more than 20,000 pages of information on these cases; 4) in accord with our zero tolerance policy, no priest with even one substantiated allegation of sexual abuse of a minor remains in ministry.
At the same time, I reminded Father Ryan that our policies also call us to do everything possible to restore the good name of priests when the process has determined the allegations to be unfounded. This, too, is a matter of justice. Therefore, both out of regard for Father Ryan and all our priests, I am resolved to see that Father Ryan's good name is restored. As a result, I will share this letter with all the parishes in the Archdiocese of Chicago, asking them to provide it to their parishioners. This letter will also be sent to the media and posted on our archdiocesan website.
Healing now must be the pathway forward for all of us. Father Ryan shares this very same sentiment and you can honor him by doing everything to make sure that a spirit of reconciliation and unity prevails as you move ahead with the efforts of Renew My Church to make your parish vibrant, vital and sustainable. In this way, the mission of Jesus can flourish.
That is my prayer for you.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Quo Vadis Days is a 4-day/3-night camp cosponsored by the Archdiocese of Chicago and the Diocese of Joliet and led by the seminarians. The camp is filled with dynamic talks, small group discussion, prayer experiences, as well as plenty of fun – sports, canoeing, capture the flag, fires and smores, and much more. The camp is open to all 13–18 year old men that want to grow in their relationship with the Lord and learn more about the priesthood. Camper capacity is 35 young men, sign up ASAP to reserve your spot. More information and registration is available at: chicagopriest.com/events/quo-vadis-days.
Are you a practicing Catholic, between the ages of 18 & 99, who has made First Communion, but has not received Confirmation?
Preparation for Confirmation for Vicariate I parishioners will be offered weekly, Monday, September 13 to Monday, November 1 from 7-9pm, at St. Edna Parish, 2525 N. Arlington Heights Road in Arlington Heights. Bishop Jeffrey Grob will preside
at the Confirmation Mass on Tuesday, November 9.
Registration forms will be available July 12 on www.vic1chicago.org or by contacting Lorie Crepeau at LCrepeau@stedna.org, 847-398-3362, ext. 325.
Zoom sessions will be offered if necessary, on Thursday evenings during the same weeks as in-person sessions.
Is God calling you to be a permanent deacon for the Archdiocese
of Chicago?
Do you know someone who might be a good candidate for the diaconate?
Click on a term below to read more about it!
