News Releases

The Archdiocese of Chicago today announced an update on the North Berwyn-Cicero Renew My Church grouping.

Over the past several months, the North Berwyn-Cicero grouping’s Feedback and Discernment Teams, made up of representatives from each of its parishes and schools, met to review and discern the future parish, school and church structures for their respective areas. Based on their meetings and discussions with the larger parish communities, they submitted feedback reports to the Archdiocesan Standards and Recommendations Commission, which includes representatives from across the archdiocese. The commission reviewed the feedback reports and other materials and information, including demographic data, financial summaries, and parish and grouping trends.  

During the past several weeks, Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, the archdiocese’s auxiliary bishops and Presbyteral Council discussed the commission’s recommendations. Based on those discussions and prayerful consideration, the following decisions have been made:

North Berwyn-Cicero Grouping

The North Berwyn-Cicero Renew My Church grouping includes the following parishes and schools:

• St. Anthony Parish (Cicero)
• Mary, Queen of Heaven Parish (Cicero)
• St. Odilo Parish and School (Berwyn)
• Our Lady of the Mount Parish (Cicero)

The new structure will be:

Mary Queen of Heaven and Our Lady of the Mount will unite as one parish with two worship sites, one pastor and one pastoral team, effective July 1, 2022.  

• Both churches will continue to host a regular schedule of Masses. The specific schedule will be determined by the pastor in consultation with parish leadership.  
• Our Lady of the Mount will formally be designated the parish church where the united parish’s sacramental records will be kept.  
• Information on the new pastor will be shared at a later date.  

There are no structural changes to St. Anthony Parish or St. Odilo Parish and school.  

 

Next Steps

Over the next few months, the archdiocese and the current parish pastors will support these communities in their transition to the new parish and school structures. The archdiocese’s Renew My Church Accompaniment Team will work with local leaders to ensure the uniting faith communities and staff are supported through this time of change.

The newly united parish community will begin the next phase of renewal, focusing on strong evangelization.

About Renew My Church

Renew My Church is the Archdiocese of Chicago’s response to Christ’s call and our invitation for renewal. The Renew My Church process will transform the archdiocese over the next several years by working with groupings of parishes to determine how they will achieve the goal of having vibrant, life-giving faith communities accessible to all Catholics. To learn more about Renew My Church, visit renewmychurch.org.