LUMEN
For Friends of the Archdiocese of Chicago
Together we bring hope
…as the Chapel of the Holy Name in November 1849, our Faith Community has inspired, nurtured, and joined people on their faith journeys to grow and encounter Jesus Christ. SINCE OUR HUMBLE ROOTS BEGAN…
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Please join us as we celebrate a year-long celebration of our 175th Anniversary connecting our past, our present, and our future! Visit our website, tinyurl.com/HNC175, for all the details, or email us at 175@holynamecathedral.org
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GIVING Why beneficiary designations are important
Brendan Keating, JD Chief Development Officer 312.534.5271 bkeating@archchicago.org
Melissa M. Babcock, CFRE Senior Director of Development 312.534.8197 mbabcock@archchicago.org
Barbara Shea Collins Director, Annual Catholic Appeal 312.534.7944 bcollins@archchicago.org
Jose Piñones Director of Giving 312.534.8278
jpinones@archchicago.org
Carla Beecher Editor, Lumen magazine
Monika Wnuk Photography Last summer, members of Old St. Patrick’s Church’s Young Adult Ministry, Encounter, enjoyed a chance to meet and mingle with other young adults during its “Grapes and Grace” social.
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
These past months have been filled with many important events. Our nation has held important elections. In Rome, the Holy Father led the Church and held the second session of the Synod on Synodality. Our Archdiocese of Chicago has continued on a path of renewal and revitalization. In all of this, we have moved forward as we have faced challenges and even struggles. Certainly, we have more work to do.
As we look at this moment, it seems very opportune that we have Together we bring hope as our theme for the 2025 Annual Catholic Appeal. This theme happily echoes the theme of the Holy Year proclaimed by Pope Francis, Pilgrims of hope. In whatever way we engage as members of the Church, as family members, as citizens, and as members of our local communities, we are committed to bringing hope and to doing so together.
Of course, the primary way we bring hope is through our shared witness to Jesus Christ. He is the Risen Lord who leads us into the hope-filled future of God’s kingdom. We also bring hope through our care and service for one another, especially to those in need. The Annual Catholic Appeal is an important pathway for our service in love.
Through your support of the Appeal, you bring hope by giving a helping hand to parishes in need, Catholic schools, religious education, ministerial formation, peacemaking, respect for life, and worldwide disaster relief through Catholic Relief Services.
May God bless you and your loved ones abundantly with the gift of hope. May his Holy Spirit empower you to bring that hope to a world in need.
Karen Callaway/ Chicago Catholic
Rediscovering the art of spiritual companionship
Across the 2,000-year history of Christian spirituality, one of its most interesting and instructive patterns has been the friendship that saints have had with each other. In the early centuries, the close friendship of Saint Basil and Saint Gregory Nazianzen was well known and served as a model for many, especially in monastic life. Later, the friendships of Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Clare and that of Saint Francis de Sales and Saint Jane Frances de Chantal provided a model of spiritual friendship for men and women. There are many other examples of saints who were friends to each other.
The friendship of the saints meant more than enjoying each other’s company. Consistently, the saints offered each other a special kind of spiritual companionship, especially support and encouragement.
That same kind of spiritual companionship is possible for us today. In fact, not only is it possible, but it can also be truly beneficial. We may want to live our faith more deeply, more surely, and even more practically. A friendship that fosters spiritual companionship can be a priceless resource. Walking alone on the spiritual path can be daunting. Walking together solidifies our resolve and keeps us on track. Still, we can ask, what would this look like? How exactly can it happen?
We can begin with the friends who are already a part of our lives, people with whom we share values and even spiritual aspirations. We will need to begin with
deliberateness and intentionality by inviting our friend to a mutual sharing of spiritual experience. This must be a truly free invitation that not every friend may be ready to pick up in a given moment. If they do, however, we can begin and take some steps to move forward together.
The first step involves a deliberate and explicit commitment to engage in the kind of spiritual conversation that enables spiritual companionship. This means, for example, setting time aside periodically and regularly to talk about the spiritual journey. Often, we are prone to talk when there is a problem or trouble is brewing in some form. Spiritual companionship needs the discipline of regular attention. It is not just crisis management.
When we come together, the first and most necessary element is prayer together. This prayer can begin with a free-form vocalized prayer that asks for the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit.
The next step is an essential time of silence. Why is it essential? Because silence enables us to gather ourselves, the fragments of our lives, and then to stand together in the holy presence of God. Because silence enables us to filter out the noise of our lives, so that we can hear each other, and in hearing each other, also hear God. How long should this silence last? Not long but more than a perfunctory pause. There should be enough time to enter the silence and its accompanying recollection.
Silence enables listening, and that leads to a next step. A passage from Sacred Scripture can be a helpful launch into the conversation that follows. In this moment, we listen to God’s Word as a prelude to listening to our words.
At this point, friends can share their spiritual experience. What exactly is that? What does it include? The sharing can respond to questions such as these: What is happening inside of me when I pray? Consolation or struggle or distraction? When have I been in contact with God’s Word, and how has it touched me? What insights have I gleaned? What has been my experience in the liturgy? What stirs in me as I try to serve others? How have I been able (or unable) to make important decisions about living out my faith? These are examples.
Once the sharing is complete, good spiritual companions reflect back what they have heard and offer their words of support, encouragement, and even challenge. Finally, they pray in thanksgiving to the Lord for what he has revealed in the conversation.
Father Louis J. Cameli, STD, is the Cardinal’s delegate for Christian formation and mission for the Archdiocese of Chicago.
Natalie Battaglia Photography
Answering the call
Parishioners at Lake Forest’s Church of St. Mary welcomed the recent launch in July of the archdiocese’s new Generation to Generation: Answer the Call capital campaign.
“As a family, we have been blessed over the past 40 years or so by the Catholic Church,” said John Peters, who, along with his wife, Pam, are pleased to be able to support the Generation to Generation campaign at the Church of St. Mary in Lake Forest. “We pray and hope that other families can talk of their gratitude in 20, 30 or even 40 years from now for the Catholic Church’s assistance to their families’ ability to grow in faith. This campaign helps ensure that happens.”
According to Brendan Keating, chief development officer at the Archdiocese of Chicago, the five-year, $300 million campaign will focus on four critical areas for growth:
• Strengthening local parishes
• Igniting spiritual renewal
• Supporting our priests
• Aiding vulnerable communities
“Every parish will participate in this comprehensive effort,” said Keating. “And each parish keeps 50 percent of all funds raised up to their goal to support its local parish initiatives.” In addition, parishes may retain 80 percent of funds raised over their goal to be used for designated purposes so that each parish can maximize the campaign’s impact on their local church.
“We are called to pass our faith to the next generation of disciples who will continue to bring the light of Christ to the world,” said Cardinal Blase Cupich. “Through this campaign, we aim to strengthen all our parishes throughout Cook and Lake counties, fostering faith by accompanying people where they are in their faith journeys, supporting and caring for our priests from formation to retirement, and serving the most vulnerable among us.”
The campaign is being introduced in five phases over the next three years, with the Church of St. Mary being among the first 14 parishes to participate.
“Our parishioners support the archdiocese in many leadership roles, so we were happy to be a pilot parish for the Generation to Generation: Answer the Call capital campaign,” said Father Michael Nacius, pastor of Church of St. Mary, which is celebrating its 150th anniversary jubilee year in 2025.
“We have so many generous and talented parishioners,” he continued, “so it was very easy to assemble a diverse, generous, committed and talented group of people to guide us in our campaign efforts.”
The committee is engaging the larger parish community through gatherings, conversations and opportunities to pray for the success of the campaign, while also encouraging people to make a financial commitment and do their part to contribute to the success of the larger campaign.
“This campaign will allow us to establish an endowment to care for our neighbors in the Church beyond the border of St. Mary’s,” he continued. “This endowment will provide an annual funding source to be allocated to the Church of St. Mary’s future charitable initiatives to care for brothers and sisters in our parish, a potential sister parish, or other sharing initiatives.
STRENGTHENING LOCAL PARISHES
Every parish in the archdiocese will participate in the campaign over the next five years. Their efforts will provide critical support to local parishes for parish needs such as new ministries, capital projects or mission support. Collectively, there is a $100 million goal for local parish efforts.
SPIRITUALLY RENEWING PARISHES
Over the past six years, parishes throughout the archdiocese have worked to complete a comprehensive restructuring to ensure they are not just sustained but poised to become vibrant and vital beacons of faith for future generations. With the majority of structural changes now complete, parishes are focusing their efforts on bringing in more community members and finding new ways to accompany them along the path of Christian discipleship.
“To do this,” said Brian Romer Niemiec, director of Parish Renewal Design and Strategic Projects, “the Department of Parish Vitality and Mission is focusing on foundational elements of renewal like evangelization, hospitality and effective support of a faith journey.”
Romer Niemiec and his colleagues offer intensive onthe-ground support through close partnerships between parishes and renewal team members. Further, $7 million of this $60 million goal is earmarked for outreach efforts for people exploring faith by tailoring online workshops that invite the spiritually hungry to engage in exploration based on their own attitudes, preference and prior experiences.
SUPPORTING OUR PRIESTS
Because we look to parish priests to share with us their guidance, answers and love as they care for us at every stage of life — from baptism until death — the Generation
to Generation: Answer the Call campaign aims to raise $100 million to support our priests. These funds will be used to invest in seminarian education, pastoral and professional development, and funds to care for the health and well-being of active and retired priests.
ASSISTING THE MOST VULNERABLE
Some parishes in the archdiocese serve communities without the financial means to fully fund a thriving parish. Most have strong Mass attendance and robust community engagement but struggle to fund basic parish needs, emergency repairs or new ministries.
“To ensure that every faithful Catholic in the archdiocese has an inspiring community in which to explore and deepen their faith and every neighborhood has a vibrant place to encounter Christ, $40 million of the campaign goal will support the Parish Vitality Fund,” said Keating. These funds will go toward long-overdue facility maintenance and will help sustain and improve parishes serving low-income communities.
Additionally, the campaign’s Parish Vitality Fund will supply scholarships for Catholic school families. “The archdiocese is steadfast in its commitment to ensuring Catholic school education is accessible to all families and that Catholic schools remain a central place of spiritual encounter,” added Keating.
Cardinal Cupich is calling on each parishioner’s unwavering commitment and support to make sure the Generation to Generation: Answer the Call campaign is successful.
“Together, we can ensure people of the Archdiocese of Chicago, today and for generations to come, are engaged disciples of Christ, sharing with others their faith and God’s love to make a difference in our world.”
Natalie Battaglia Photography
Together we bring in an age of anxiety
hope
Every five years, I have had the privilege to gather with my ordination class from the North American College in Rome. If you number those of us who are still alive and in ministry, we now account for 14 dioceses across the United States. Our reunions are an occasion to catch up with each other and to thank God for the gifts he has given us through our priesthood.
Our conversations are free-flowing and invariably interesting as we share the patterns of our experience. A few years ago, as we entered our mid-70s, we detected a new and perhaps age-related experience of anxiety. Since then, other people in my age cohort have confirmed this experience in their own lives. This form of anxiety is not emotionally crippling, nor does it impinge significantly on daily functioning. Rather, this anxiety seems to be more a backdrop in our lives as we fret
about getting things done, about bad things that could happen, or about covering all our bases. It is, as best we could determine, rooted in the diminishment of our physical energy and maybe some emotional wear and tear over the years. Anxiety also poses its own spiritual challenges, but more about that later.
Obviously, anxiety does not belong only in the realm of older people. Young people, even children, can struggle with anxious feelings. In an even wider social and cultural range, the poet W.H. Auden wrote in the 1940s about our time as “an age of anxiety.” With the world war of that period, with its genocides, and with the development of the atomic bomb, clearly, there was reason to be anxious, and that remains true into our own day.
It is helpful to consider what exactly anxiety is. At the level of feeling, anxiety is fear and foreboding with
varying levels of intensity. Anxiety anticipates a looming loss ahead of us. It anticipates that things will not turn out well. It suggests that we will be out of control and unable to manage whatever outcomes we want in our lives. Our anxiety also can be targeted or specifically directed to some specific event or outcome, but it also can be more ominous as a diffused and vague feeling about what might happen to us.
As we consider it, anxiety has many dark undertones. Might there be anything good about it? Can something positive emerge from this heavy emotion? In fact, there is a real but limited positive side to anxiety. In the world and in our lives, there are real dangers and challenges. There is a real prospect of loss that we face daily. A healthy dose of worry or anxiety can keep us alert and ready to meet those dangers and
challenges. Of course, instead of being a healthy alert, anxiety can take on a life of its own, paralyze us, and render us unable to move forward. That unhealthy form of anxiety needs our attention. How can we deal with it?
People have developed different strategies. Some engage in denial, not admitting that there is any problem at all. Others counter their anxiety by pushing their own self-confidence to center stage. Still others distract themselves with whatever will take their mind off the source of their anxiety. They aim for a relaxed attitude or a kind of indifference. The flaw in these strategies is that they all rely on a force of will to “get over it.” In the end, we cannot — by dint of our own efforts — free ourselves from anxiety in its deep and unhealthy forms.
ENTER HOPE
Here is where hope enters and confronts anxiety. Both hope and anxiety are about leaning into the future but with vastly different approaches and outcomes. Anxiety, as we have described it, looks at a future fraught with peril and likely to end in loss and disaster. Hope looks to the future with confidence in a positive outcome. A sure and reliable hope, however, is much different than an illusory hope. That kind
of false hope has a shaky foundation in wishful thinking that either assumes that everything will just be all right or that we can make it so. It looks like hope, but it really is a way to fool ourselves. Real and reliable hope, on the other hand, has its foundations in God.
Faith, hope, and charity are the three theological virtues, that is, three foundational capacities that mark our lives: to believe in God, to trust confidently in God, and to love God and each other. They are “theological” in the sense that they come to us as a gift or grace of God. The Greek word for God
is theos, and so we call these theological virtues. Hope trusts confidently in God and what God offers us, that is, the fullness of life in him and in his kingdom. This hope opens horizons for us and orients us to what lies ahead for us.
hope may be imperfect. There may be rushes of worry about the future. Still, even as we struggle, we can discover a basic hope within us. Even more, we can grow in the theological virtue of hope as we make our spiritual journey through life.
“We know that all things work together for good for those who love God …”
(Romans 8:28)
Unlike anxiety that looks with foreboding and alarm at the future, hope confidently aspires to the fulfillment of God’s promises to us. While we walk on this Earth, our
There are fundamental faith convictions on which we base our hope. The first conviction is that God, who is Creator and Redeemer, is in charge of our world and our lives. Real sovereignty
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body …” (Matthew 6:25)
Natalie Battaglia Photography
Additional resources to study, reflect and pray about hope:
Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd edition): nn. 1817–1821. These four paragraphs offer a clear and accessible summary of the teaching on hope.
Spe Salvi [Saved in Hope], an encyclical letter of Pope Benedict XVI on Christian hope (2007). This encyclical is available at the Vatican website in an English translation. Google the title, and that will lead you to the English version.
In this encyclical, Pope Benedict addresses what he calls a “crisis of Christian hope” in modern times. With his great theological acumen, he explores the traditional understanding of hope in the context of today’s circumstances.
Spes non confundit [Hope does not disappoint], the bull of indiction proclaiming the ordinary jubilee of the year 2025, Pope Francis (2024)
belongs to God and to God alone. Furthermore, he has a holy plan that is at work in our lives. Saint Paul echoes this: “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God …” (Romans 8:28) Elsewhere in the same letter, Saint Paul shares his vision of how hope unfolds in our lives: “… since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and
endurances produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” (Romans 5:1–5)
This vision of hope that leads us beyond anxiety to confidently embrace the future that God prepares for us helps us understand Paul’s words to the Philippians: “Do not worry about anything …” (Philippians 4:6) This admonition is impossible, unless we live firmly anchored in God’s hope. Similarly, hope helps us understand Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount:
Pope Francis offers the whole Church an opportunity to enter the Holy Year and deepen our sense of God’s hope in our lives. His style, as always, is accessible and practical. This too is available at the Vatican website in an English translation. Google the title, and that will lead you to the English version.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body …” (Matthew 6:25; see 26–34).
Finally, God’s hope that moves us beyond our worry and does not disappoint us is not merely a personal possession: It is a gift, and every gift is meant to be shared. This is the sense of this year’s theme for the Annual Catholic Appeal, Together we bring hope. It also resonates with the Holy
Year theme proclaimed by Pope Francis, Pilgrims of hope. Whatever we do to serve and to help others proclaims the hope in which we stand. Through our support of one another and especially our support of those in need and the poor, we are witnessing that God has a plan for all of us, that our destiny is in him, and that we are moving together to the fulfillment of our hope, which, indeed, is God’s hope for us.
Our Lady of the Holy Family offers hope, healing and some very good food
About five years before Dan Kopanke retired, he started thinking about what he might like to do next. He always loved cooking, so he enrolled at Kendall College of Culinary Arts and earned a certificate in professional cooking in 2012.
“I wanted to set myself up for a sort of hobby business in my retirement,” said the Our Lady of the Holy Family parishioner. But once he retired from his job of 33 years as a rehabilitation nurse at Rush University Medical Center in 2017, he found that he really wasn’t interested in cooking for money. So, he and his wife, Kathy, decided to start cooking for the homeless.
The couple set out about three times a week with homemade hot sandwiches to feed the unhoused at the tent city along the Dan Ryan Expressway. “We actually got to know the people living there quite well,” he said. They also organized a parish group that brought 200 meals twice a month to the Franciscan House of Mary and Joseph Chicago, which worked with the Greater Chicago Food Depository and Rush University Medical Center, among others, to provide housing and meals to men and
women who had no home. They used the rectory kitchen at Our Lady of the Holy Family to prepare the meals.
When COVID-19 hit in 2020, the program was put on hold for almost two years. When businesses started opening up again, they resumed
cooking. But instead of delivering meals to people living in tents, they partnered with Love Fridge Chicago, a mutual aid group that places and fills community refrigerators across the city. The refrigerator that Kopanke’s group services is in Pilsen.
Our Lady of the Holy Family volunteer Carmen Opero is a member of its Supper Ministry that make 60 meals each week for those in need.
Natalie Battaglia Photography
Natalie Battaglia Photography
The Love Fridge’s motto:
Every other Monday, Kopanke sends out an email to interested parishioners, and the first six to respond come to the rectory kitchen for a couple of hours on Saturday to cook 60 meals to deliver later that day.
Kopanke, who also cooks extra meals for some families that are experiencing illness, makes 365 loaves of bread a year in his own kitchen to place in the Love Fridge. “It’s based on the idea of ‘Give us this day our daily bread,’” he said.
Kopanke is now Catholic, but he grew up Protestant and got his initial interest in cooking and helping others from his mom, who was a Salvation Army officer. “She always said, ‘You have to put feet to your prayers.’ It wasn’t enough to pray, you also had to act. That’s also why I became a nurse.
“You can’t just pray to the Lord to help people in need; it’s up to each of us to do the work,” he said. “We actually need to feed people who are hungry.” The parish supplies the funds to buy the ingredients for the Love Fridge meals.
The people who hang out in the plaza near where the Pilsen Love
Fridge sits have gotten to know Kopanke’s car. When he drives up to drop off meals, a crowd usually forms, and oftentimes 10 or 15 meals are gone before he can even finish filling the fridge.
“There are many issues that cause stratification of wealth in society,“ he continued. “Mental health plays a huge role, especially for a lot of the guys who hang at the nearby plaza all the time. Speaking as a health professional, I’d say 80 percent of these people have serious mental health issues, making it impossible for them to work or even get into shelters. It’s sobering.
“This is my way of living out my faith,” he continued. His wife feels the same way. “We’re both very committed to it, and it is satisfying. This past week when we dropped off food, we sat in our car for a few minutes and saw a mom and her 10-year-old daughter getting food from the Love Fridge. I actually got a little choked up for a second.
“I just can’t imagine following Christ without doing some sort of corporal ministry,” he said. “People need this.”
“TAKE IF YOU NEED, GIVE IF YOU CAN.”
Our Lady of the Holy Family also has a food pantry at the parish that is a member of the Chicago Food Depository and feeds about 200 families every Friday afternoon. In addition, a few years ago, the congregation hosted a Christmas in the Summer celebration and raised $3,000 to help buy professional kitchen equipment.
Volunteers Joseph and Lesia Panepinto, Gregory Pacelli and chefs Kathy and Dan Kopanke busy at work.
The Beierwaltes family answers the call
When you speak with Sandie Beierwaltes about her family’s history with St. John Brebeuf Parish in Niles, you feel like you’re on a journey through time, witnessing the profound impact of faith and community across generations. Sandie, a second-grade teacher at the parish school for 38 years, has many stories that highlight her family’s deep-rooted connection to their spiritual home.
Her grandparents, Victor and Palma Rosy, were some of the first members of the parish when they moved to Niles in 1953. They passed down a strong foundation of faith and education to the next generation, and Sandie’s parents, Carl and Charlotte Lindquist, married there in 1959. “Back then, my dad wasn’t Catholic, but he still embraced our faith and community,” she said.
The family’s involvement continued to deepen,
and she and her siblings were baptized and educated at St. John’s — and all three sisters married in the church. Sandie even met her husband, Dave, at a school fundraiser in the church basement. “I told my friends I would marry him the day we met,” she said with a laugh.
The Beierwaltes family has celebrated many sacraments at St. John Brebeuf, including 13 baptisms, 10 confirmations, nine first communions, and six weddings. There are nine graduates of St. John Brebeuf school in the family.
The family is also deeply committed to service. Sandie’s husband, who serves as an usher, has been a dedicated scout leader and is involved in the Men’s Club. Her mother served on the school and youth ministry boards and even started and ran the “Joy and Jesus”
Four generations of the Beierwaltes family surround Sandie’s parents, Carl and Charlotte Lindquiest, who married at St. John Brebeuf Parish in 1959.
preschool program for 42 years. “My mom is still active in the Women’s Club, and my dad, who recently converted to Catholicism, has always been very involved in the parish,” Sandie said.
According to Sandie, her father’s recent conversion happened during a difficult time last fall when her mother got sick. “My dad chose a neighbor and close friend as his sponsor. It was very emotional and special,” she said. The family gathered on Father’s Day last June at the church to celebrate her 87-year-old father’s confirmation.
Sandie says that her job as a teacher chose her. “I was called to it and can’t see myself anywhere else,” she said. “My second graders keep me grounded in my faith. Teaching them about the sacraments, preparing them for communion and reconciliation — it’s an honor. Their innocence and excitement are a gift to me. I’m now teaching the children of the kids I once taught, and some of my former students are now my colleagues.”
Reflecting on her family’s legacy, Sandie emphasizes the importance of involvement and service. “Every single blessing in my life is somehow connected to St. John’s. It’s not just a place of worship; it’s home for all of us,” she said. Her advice to other families is to participate actively in their faith communities: “If possible, send your kids to Catholic school. If not, make sure they have religious education. Let your kids see your involvement in church. It teaches them the importance of giving back and serving others.”
Sandie’s faith has also helped her through challenging times. When her son and daughter-in-law’s home in Michigan was struck by lightning and caught fire, the parish community — especially school families — rallied around them. “The Men’s Club donated, and people from the church gave a significant amount of money in gift cards to help them purchase new clothes and toys. It was a reminder to all of us what makes our Catholic school and our community so special,” she recalled.
A DAILY INTENTION
“Every morning, I walk around the school campus and reflect on everyone I know who needs prayers. At the end of the day, I thank God for three things that day. It’s a perfect way to start and end the day — it helps with all the things that go on in the middle.”
As Sandie looks to the future, she remains dedicated to nurturing faith in the next generation. “Faith is so important because it has gotten me through so many things — happy and sad times. God has a plan for us, and our faith has always provided for us,” she said.
Sandie’s family is proud to be featured on the campaign posters.
Photo: Minka Wnuk
Saint Jane Frances de Chantal
A saint for many walks of
life
Saint Jane Frances de Chantal was born in France in 1572 and died there 69 years later in 1641. In those years, she lived a life both ordinary and extraordinary. The prayer for her feast day captures this very well:
O God, who made Saint Jane Frances de Chantal radiant with outstanding merits in different walks of life, grant us, through her intercession, that, walking faithfully in our vocation, we may constantly be example of shining light. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. Amen.
Saint Jane was born into a noble family, and at age 20, she married a nobleman, Baron Christophe de Chantal. His estate and, in fact, all his holdings were in peril because of bad management. She managed, through her hard work and financial acumen, to bring order and prosperity to their household. They loved each other very much. They had seven children, but heartbreakingly lost three in infancy. Tragically, St. Jane’s husband died in a hunting accident. Although it took some time, she was eventually able to forgive the person who had accidentally inflicted the mortal blow on her husband. After her husband’s death, Saint Jane met Saint Francis de Sales, who became her spiritual director. He helped her advance in her spiritual journey. In an age that aspired to embrace heroic ideals of self-mortification
and other spiritual practices, Saint Francis de Sales counseled her to live a life of simple humility, fidelity and ready service for others. She did this and advanced greatly in the spiritual life.
Together with Saint Francis de Sales, she founded a new religious order, the Sisters of the Visitation. This order would accept candidates who may have been in ill health or were older, those whom other religious congregations were reluctant to accept. The order combined cloistered living with outreach to those in need beyond the convent walls. Church officials resisted this combination of a contemplative and active life, but time has proven the rightness of the direction that Saint Jane set for her community.
As we step back and view the life of this remarkable, faith-filled and creative woman, we can find ample inspiration for our own lives today. She was a wife, a mother, a grieving mother, a widow, and a vowed religious. At every moment and in every way, she sought a simple and direct path to God. She gives us an encouraging example in our own moment, no matter what the circumstances of our life may be.
St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane Frances de Chantal Offer Their Hearts to the Sacred Heart, Cathedral of Saint-Siffrein de Carpentras, Vaucluse, France.
Moving along the discipleship pathway
The next step in the Department of Parish Vitality and Mission’s goal to strengthen discipleship in parishes is a focus on deeply supporting parishes as they engage in a process of spiritual renewal, said Brian Romer Niemiec, director of Parish Renewal Design and Strategic Projects.
Romer Niemiec leads a team of parish renewal leaders, or PRLs (“pearls”), who spend about two days a week on-site at parishes helping pastors as they develop effective leadership teams and find new ways to lean into foundational elements of renewal, like evangelization, hospitality and effective support of a faith journey, he explained.
As the Office of Parish Renewal — the newest office in the Department of Parish Vitality and Mission — embarks on this much more intentional spiritual renewal support at the parish level, it uses a team of PRLs, directors of vicariate renewal (DVRs), and renewal senior coordinators to strategically approach each parish based on need, capacity and commitment to renewal. They then deploy resources accordingly.
Romer Niemiec, who also is serving St. Juliana Parish as its PRL, began his work there by observing the current strengths of the community and parish leadership team to identify areas of parish life that need the most support.
“At St. Juliana, we noticed a couple of ministry areas needing more support, including new member engagement, liturgy and adult discipleship,” he said.
“Barb Ernat now works part time to lead new member engagement and hospitality, and music director Glenn DeCastro is empowered to lead liturgical ministry as a whole. The senior leadership team, who are focused on pastoral priorities that support the work of spiritual renewal, has helped support the work of evangelization and adult discipleship.”
According to Romer Niemiec, the structural renewal throughout the archdiocese has been relatively quick to implement when compared to the task of spiritual renewal. “What takes longer, though, is resetting the parish culture, because it involves everyone envisioning a new future and understanding the steps needed to get there,” he said.
For instance, a new way of looking at adult formation means changing the approach from learning the facts
about faith, sacraments and Jesus to really exploring and (re)encountering a relationship with Jesus and deepening that connection in the context of the Church.
He and his team are seeing a cultural change in parishes geared more toward evangelization and missionary discipleship (an encounter and relationship with Jesus that calls you to use your gifts for others and the world). “People are getting more comfortable with disciple-centered prayer in staff meetings, in leadership meetings, and in larger parish gatherings, for example,” he said. “Rather than just focusing on rote prayer, people are noticing what feelings prayers are invoking in them. How is Jesus speaking to me today as a disciple? Where is he calling me?”
For Pastor John Siemianowski, the help he and his parish are receiving from Romer Niemiec has offered a breath of fresh air. “At age 64, I believe I have been an effective priest for 35 years, but working with Brian stretches me in new ways. I am challenged to know and tell my story of encounter with the Lord. I also am asked to systematically share my vision with the parish,” he said.
In the last year, the parish has cultivated about 25 new leaders who are helping bring the new evangelization to life. “That’s a big jump in the number of new people engaged as leaders,” Siemianowski said. “They now lead or support Alpha, our group gatherings to reflect on ‘The Chosen’ television series, a book club, the men’s and the women’s retreats, and our hospitality and welcoming ministries. I think the parish is more cohesive — we are moving in the same direction.”
For that to have happened, Romer Niemiec added, “We needed to be intentional about how we are inviting, equipping, and supporting parish leaders so that they don’t burn out and can discern how God is calling them to respond with their gifts.”
Brian Romer Niemiec and Pastor John Siemianowski
Natalie Battaglia Photography
Parishioner’s book recalls her father’s talent, drive and love
“An Artist Goes to War” was recently published by Our Lady of Mount Carmel parishioner Victoria “Vicki” Granacki. The book tells the story of her late father, Leon Granacki, who, like so many others, was just an ordinary guy from a workingclass immigrant family who was drafted into the Army during World War II, where he served in the South Pacific.
According to Vicki, before her father was drafted, he studied art at Lane Tech High School and worked as a commercial artist in Chicago. The book describes how he leveraged his artistic talent to catapult himself from private infantryman to master sergeant and mapmaker for General Douglas MacArthur in the Army’s newly formed Americal Division. As her father’s troop transport crossed the equator, he was tapped to design the Americal Division patch for the Army’s only named division, which was created in New Caledonia.
Overseas for three-and-a-half years without any stateside furlough, Leon Granacki labored over maps of enemy positions in a primitive tent in the steamy, mosquito-infested jungles of Guadalcanal and Bougainville. The book paints a portrait of him by using his original maps, jungle watercolors, journal illustrations, scrapbook photos, and 200 letters home — some written in Polish — to his extended family who were living together in a crowded Humboldt Park six-flat.
“The letters directed to his beloved parents are filled with childlike tenderness as he tries to reassure them that
he’ll be safe,” Vicki said. “His plaintive longings for family, holidays home, fishing, and a woman to love are poignant reminders of the personal effects of war on reluctant soldiers.”
Vicki, who wrote this book during COVID, said it was a way to make sure her father’s legacy is preserved for future generations.
When asked about memories of her father while growing up, Vicki spoke of how important her father’s faith and Polish heritage were to him.
“My father’s earliest education was in a Catholic grammar school in Pulaski, Wisconsin, which reinforced his parent’s Polish heritage,” she said. He saved his 1927 First Communion prayer book written in Polish that held little holy cards and medals that he was given by the Franciscan priests and nuns. “My father’s faith was very strong and carried him through the horrors of war,” she said.
The importance of Catholic education
Catholic education is a thread woven through Vicki Granacki’s entire life. She attended St. Viator Elementary School and Alvernia High School, both in Chicago’s Old Irving Park neighborhood, and graduated from Mundelein College (now part of Loyola University Chicago). Both her son, Matt Wesley, and daughter, Monica Wesley, are graduates of Loyola Academy in Wilmette. Her granddaughter, Lauren Wesley, is a
freshman at De Paul College Prep High School, and her grandson, Luke Wesley, attends Saint Josaphat School in Lincoln Park.
“I believe in the transformative power of a Catholic education,” Vicki said, and “I’m proud that the third generation of my family is being educated in Chicago Catholic schools. “My life has been blessed, and I’m honored to share my time and treasure with the schools of the Archdiocese of Chicago.”
An Artist Goes to War
For more information about her book, visit GranackiArts.com.
A Leon Granacki watercolor from World War II
Leon and his mother, Victoria Master Sgt. Granacki in uniform
LUMEN CORDIUM
SOCIETY
The Lumen Cordium Society is a special alliance of Catholic men and women who take a leadership role in the work of the Church. As a member, your generosity sets an example of good stewardship as you reach out with love to people and ministries in need of your assistance. While the satisfaction derived from advancing the mission of the Church in Chicago is the greatest reward, the benefits described below are intended to convey Cardinal Cupich’s gratitude for your support. If you have any questions, please contact Krista Cobb, coordinator, Annual Catholic Appeal, at 312.534.7615 or kcobb@archchicago.org.
PATRONS
Those donating at the $1,500 to $4,999 level will:
• Be remembered in weekly Masses celebrated at St. James Chapel in the Quigley Pastoral Center
• Receive Lumen magazine twice a year
• Be included in the Prayer Intention Book of society members
• Be invited to the annual Mass and reception with Cardinal Cupich
BENEFACTORS
Those donating at the $5,000 to $9,999 level will:
• Receive Patrons benefits
• Receive a subscription to Chicago Catholic, the archdiocesan newspaper
• Be invited to an annual reception at the Residence with Cardinal Cupich
CARDINAL’S CIRCLE
Those donating at the $10,000 to $24,999 level will:
• Receive Benefactors benefits
• Be invited to a Christmas reception with Cardinal Cupich
CARDINAL’S GUILD
Those donating at the $25,000+ level will:
• Receive Cardinal’s Circle benefits
• Be invited to a special VIP reception
To recognize more of our generous donors who support the work of the Church, the Archdiocese of Chicago recently instituted three more giving societies in addition to our Lumen Cordium Society.
LUMEN LEADERSHIP SOCIETY
Cumulative Lifetime Giving over $100,000
The Lumen Leadership Society honors families and individuals who have made cumulative lifetime gifts totaling $100,000 or more to archdiocese initiatives, including the Annual Catholic Appeal and To Teach Who Christ Is. Members receive recognition and invitations to special events. If you have any questions, please contact Barbara Shea Collins, director of the Annual Catholic Appeal, at 312.534.7944 or bcollins@archchicago.org.
LUMEN LOYALIST SOCIETY
Loyal Support to the Annual Catholic Appeal
The Lumen Loyalist Society honors those who have made gifts of $500 or more to the Annual Catholic Appeal every year for 10 years. If you have any questions, please contact Barbara Shea Collins, director of the Annual Catholic Appeal, at 312.534.7944 or bcollins@archchicago.org.
LUMEN LEGACY SOCIETY
Planned Gifts
The Lumen Legacy Society honors individuals who have included a gift to the archdiocese, or one of its parishes, schools or ministries, in their estate plans — through a will, trust, retirement account or other financial asset. Membership is also extended to those who establish a gift annuity or name the Annual Catholic Appeal as a beneficiary in their estate plan. If you have any questions, please contact Krystina M. Campbell, JD, planned giving officer, at 312.534.5404 or kcampbell@archchicago.org.
ADVENT REFLECTION
Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.” (Jn 8:12)
During the Advent and Christmas seasons, many special lights surround us: the candles of our Advent wreaths, the lights we hang on Christmas trees and the eaves of our roofs. Sometimes we surround a Nativity scene with lights that draw us into the wonder of Jesus’ birth.
Our eyes are naturally drawn to light, and in the fullness of time, God sent his only Son to emit eternal light.
During the Mass, from behind an altar surrounded by radiant candles, we catch a veiled glimpse of Jesus, the light of the world, as the priest elevates what appears to be bread and wine that have truly and substantially become the real presence of Christ: his body and blood, soul and divinity. Because of his great love for us, we can receive him in Holy Communion. When we are in communion with Jesus, we become “the light of the world” (Matt 5:14): We are filled with Jesus’ light and are now able to share his light with others.
We are beginning a new liturgical year, in which we journey through salvation history. In a very special way, at every Mass, we relive the epicenter of salvation history, the passion, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus, known as the paschal mystery. And, at the end of every Mass, we are told to go out into the world, to love and to serve, even to lay down our lives in self-sacrificial love (Jn 15:13).
With that directive in mind, I offer here a few books that can help you experience with greater intensity the brilliance of Christ’s light, especially during the celebration of the Mass, in word and in sacrament.
Behold, Believe, Become: Meeting the Hidden Christ in the Things We See, Say and Do at Mass
by Timothy P. O’Malley (McGrath Institute for Church Life, 2024)
According to the publisher’s description, the book “shows you how to see differently — through newly formed habits of contemplation — 15 ordinary, physical things that the Church uses at Mass to point us toward Christ. O’Malley helps you see how each element tells us something about who Christ is and who we are to become as Christian people.”
The Jesse Tree: An Advent Devotion
by Eric and Suzan Sammons (Sophia Institute Press, 2022)
This book can help you lead your family closer to Christ as you prepare for the Lord’s coming at Christmas. Engage with the Old Testament patriarchs and prophets who are the branches in Jesus’ family tree and come to understand fully how, in Christ, this family history becomes the history of our salvation.
A Year in the Word: Catholic Bible Journal
by Meg Hunter-Kilmer (Our Sunday Visitor, 2022)
Hunter-Kilmer has read the entire Bible 20 times and has lots of tips, insights and encouragement to help you make it from cover to cover, praying and journaling as you go. It has an attractive one-pageper-day format, so you can challenge yourself to read through the whole Bible in a year or simply take it one day at a time until you’re finished.
WHY BENEFICIARY
DESIGNATIONS ARE IMPORTANT
Beneficiary designations are often the simplest way to implement your charitable estate plans. However, it’s important to understand how beneficiary designations work and how you can make sure you are using them most effectively. Here’s why: Beneficiary designations take priority over what is written in other estate planning documents, such as a will or trust. Keep these tips in mind.
Make sure you have named beneficiaries on all of your retirement plan accounts and life insurance policies. When someone does not set up a designated beneficiary on each of their accounts, their estate automatically becomes the beneficiary, potentially leading to a long, expensive and burdensome probate process. For IRAs and employer-sponsored retirement plans, there may also be unfavorable income tax consequences.
Avoid naming your estate as the beneficiary.
If you name your estate as beneficiary, the account will have to go through probate, which can be lengthy and complicated. It may take years before your loved ones can access your assets. This can be avoided by designating them as beneficiaries on the account itself instead.
Be specific about the names of your beneficiaries. Use the full legal name and contact information of your desired beneficiary or beneficiaries. For charitable organizations, be sure to include the legal name, tax identification number, and main office address.
Avoid naming minor children as beneficiaries. Create a trust instead.
Minor children may not be able to access your assets or life insurance proceeds until they reach the legal age of consent. If you want the payout used for their benefit while they are still children, you may want to set up a trust or custodial arrangement. In that case, you can name the trust as the beneficiary. Talk with an attorney for help in setting up the best vehicle for your situation.
If you do not have a trust or custodial arrangement in place, a judge will be required to name a custodian to manage the funds. Typically, the financial firm will not release funds to a minor without the judicial order naming a custodian.
Consider naming charities as the designated beneficiaries. Doing so can save a significant amount of taxes, because your family and loved ones will be required to pay income taxes on the amounts they receive from your retirement account at their tax brackets. Charitable organizations, on the other hand, are tax-exempt entities and will pay no taxes. Therefore, 100 percent of your retirement account will be used according to your wishes.
Update your will when you modify your beneficiary designations (and vice versa). Your will and your beneficiary designations work in unison with each other. Changing one without changing the other could result in the unintended disinheritance of a loved one, causing a beneficiary to lose government benefits or burdening a beneficiary with a large tax bill.
Avoid naming persons with special needs as beneficiaries. Create a trust instead. Similar to naming minor children, persons with special needs — even if they are adults — may not have the capacity to adequately manage the funds. A custodian may need to be named by a judge. In addition, receiving these funds could make them ineligible to receive government assistance, which might result in a significant loss of financial support for them.
Establishing a special needs trust and naming the trust as beneficiary is one way to channel your assets or life insurance death benefit to someone with special needs without triggering laws that may work against them. Consult an attorney who specializes in estate planning to learn more about your options.
LEARN MORE
To learn more about the key elements of an estate plan, request our complimentary guide, Tips for Creating an Effective Estate Plan, by contacting Krystina M. Campbell, JD, planned giving officer, at 312.534.5404 or kcampbell@archchicago.org Visit myimpact.archchicago.org/ resources to download additional planned giving resources.
Secure Extra Income For Yourself and the Church
Charitable Gift Annuity
A gift annuity with the Archdiocese of Chicago offers you fixed payments for life and a way to support the Church.
How It Works
• Make a gift of $10,000 or more using cash or securities.
• Receive fixed payments for life — for yourself or a loved one age 60 or older.
• Enjoy tax benefits, including an income tax deduction for a portion of your gift if you itemize, and part of each annuity payment is tax-free through life expectancy.
• Designate remaining funds to support your parish, school, ministry or the archdiocese.
Gift Annuity Rates for One-Life
*Effective January 1, 2024. Rates are subject to change. HIGHER payout rates for 2024!
To receive a free, no-obligation illustration of how you could benefit from a Charitable Gift Annuity, contact Krystina M. Campbell at 312.534.5404 or kcampbell@archchicago.org
Lumen Cordium Society
835 North Rush Street
Chicago, IL 60611-2030
tel 312.534.7959
annualcatholicappeal.com
PRAYER REQUEST
At the Archdiocese of Chicago, we believe in the strength of a supportive community and the transformative power of collective prayer. We invite you to share your prayer requests through our online prayer form at archchicago.org/prayer. Our dedicated prayer team will join you in lifting your intentions to God. Whether you are seeking solace in difficult times, giving thanks for blessings received, or praying for others, we are here to support you in your spiritual journey.
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