News Releases

The Archdiocese of Chicago announced an update on the Lakeview-Lincoln Park, St. Mary of the Woods/Queen of All Saints Basilica, Downtown (Chicago), West Burlington and Vernon-Liberty Renew My Church groupings, which include 16 parishes, 10 schools, one oratory and one shrine. 

Over the past several months, the Renew My Church 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:

Lakeview-Lincoln Park grouping

The Lakeview-Lincoln Park Renew My Church Grouping includes the following parishes in Chicago:

• St. Alphonsus (Wellington Street)
• St. Clement
• Our Lady of Mt. Carmel (Belmont Avenue)
• St. Bonaventure Oratory
• The National Shrine of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini

The new structure will be:  

• St. Alphonsus, St. Clement and Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parishes will remain in their current structure. 
• The three parish schools, St. Alphonsus Academy & Center for the Arts, St. Clement School and Our Lady of Mount Carmel Academy, will continue in their current structure.
• Cabrini Shrine will continue in its current structure.  
• A small group of community members will continue to discern the best future for St. Bonaventure Oratory and submit a proposal to the archdiocese by Labor Day, with a decision expected in early October. 
• In the near future, the west portion of the St. Bonaventure property, which houses the Vicariate II offices and the former Cardinal Bernardin School, will be marketed for sale.   

The St. Mary of the Woods/Queen of All Saints Basilica grouping

This St. Mary of the Woods/Queen of All Saints Basilica Grouping includes the following parishes in Chicago:

• St. Mary of the Woods
• Queen of All Saints Basilica

The new structure will be:

• Both parishes will remain in their current structure. 
• St. Mary of the Woods School and Queen of All Saint’s School will continue in their current structure.

The Downtown (Chicago) grouping

The Downtown grouping includes the following parishes:

• Holy Name Cathedral
• Assumption (Illinois Street)
• Old St. Mary’s
• Old St. Patrick’s
• St. Peter’s in the Loop
• St. James on Wabash

The new structure will be:

• The Downtown grouping’s six parishes will remain in their current structure.
• Old St. Mary’s School will continue in its current structure.

The West Burlington grouping

The West Burlington grouping includes the following parishes:

• St. Cletus (LaGrange)
• St. Francis Xavier (LaGrange)
• St. John of the Cross (Western Springs)

The new structure will be:

• The West Burlington grouping’s three parishes will remain in their current structure. 
• St. Cletus School, St. Francis Xavier School and St. John of the Cross Parish School will continue in their current structure.

The Vernon-Liberty Renew My Church grouping

The Vernon-Liberty grouping includes the following parishes:

• St. Joseph (Libertyville)
• St. Mary of Vernon (Indian Creek)

The new structure will be:

• Both parishes will remain in their current structure. 
• St. Joseph Catholic School will continue in its current structure. 

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.