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Archdiocese of Chicago Provides Update on Mt. Greenwood-West Beverly and Christ the King-St. Barnabas Renew My Church Groupings

May 19, 2022

The Archdiocese of Chicago announced an update on the Mt. Greenwood-West Beverly and Christ the King-St. Barnabas Renew My Church Groupings. 

The Mt. Greenwood-West Beverly and Christ the King- St. Barnabas Renew My Church groupings include the following parishes in Chicago:

  • Christ the King
  • St. Barnabas
  • St. Cajetan
  • St. John Fisher
  • St. Christina

Over the past several months, the two groupings’ Feedback and Discernment Teams, made up of representatives from all the parishes, met to review and discern their future parish and church structures. Based on their meetings and discussions with the larger parish communities, they submitted feedback to the Archdiocesan Standards and Recommendations Commission, which includes representatives from across the archdiocese. The commission reviewed the feedback and other materials and information, including demographic data, financial summaries, and parish and grouping trends.  

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

  • All five parishes and schools will embark on dedicated evangelization efforts while remaining in their current structures, with the following modifications: 
    • Each parish and school will retain its identity.
    • As of July 1, Fr. Ken Budzikowski will serve as pastor of both St. John Fisher and St. Cajetan Parishes. An associate pastor will be assigned to work with Fr. Budzikowski. 
    • As of July 1, 2022, Fr. Jim Donovan will continue as pastor of St. Barnabas.
    • As of July 1, 2022, Fr. Larry Sullivan will continue as pastor of Christ the King.
      • In the future, St. Barnabas and Christ the King are expected to share the same pastor. The effective date when the two parishes are expected to share a pastor is to be determined each year based on pastor placement needs across the archdiocese.
    • As of July 1, 2022, Fr. Tom Conde will continue to serve as pastor of St. Christina. St. Christina is expected to remain staffed by a full-time pastor into the future.
    • Each parish will make a financial commitment to evangelization, which will include training of parishioners, engaging of school families, accountability to the archdiocese and building an evangelization team.
    • As proposed by the Grouping Feedback and Discernment Team, an Oversight Council of lay parishioners will be created to guide shared ministries, maintain accountability across the parishes and ensure efficient use of resources. The Oversight Council will focus on four parishes of St. Barnabas, St. Cajetan, Christ the King and St. John Fisher.
      • The four parishes involved in the Oversight Council and St. Christina Parish will engage in evangelization efforts with support of archdiocesan teams.
    • This structure and plan will be reviewed within three years by the Presbyteral Council.  

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.