Obituaries

Chicago (Jan. 14, 2025) – Rev. Stephen F. Kanonik, priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago and pastor of St. Benedict Parish on Irving Park Road in Chicago, passed away Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, at the age of 68.

Kanonik was born on Aug. 23, 1956, in Chicago. He attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary in Chicago, Niles College of Loyola University in Chicago, and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary in Mundelein.

Kanonik was ordained to the priesthood on May 12, 1982, by Bishop Nevin W. Hayes, and he celebrated his first solemn Mass on May 23, 1982 at St. Ferdinand Parish in Chicago.

After ordination to the priesthood, Kanonik served as associate pastor at St. Bruno Parish on Harding Avenue in Chicago and St. Louise de Marillac Parish in La Grange Park. He then served as pastor at the following parishes in Chicago: St. Ladislaus Parish on Roscoe Street, St. Juliana Parish on Touhy Avenue and St. Benedict Parish. Kanonik served as Moderator of the Curia and recently had also been a member of the Diocesan Priests’ Placement Board.

Rev. Thomas Refermat, archdiocesan priest and associate pastor at St. Benedict Parish, remembers Kanonik as “a man who loved the people, cared for the people and wanted to speak up for his parishioners.” “He loved them and his parishioners loved him, especially the children,” Refermat said. He recalls serving alongside Kanonik, saying “working side by side with him, I always saw him as an older brother.”

Rev. James Kastigar, archdiocesan priest and one of Kanonik’s classmates, remembers Kanonik as a “very kind, gentle man who really loved other people and he took time to listen to them. He’d always stop what he was doing to talk to people.” Kastigar recalled his dedication to his vocation, describing him as “a happy priest, a pastoral priest, and someone who was born to be in a parish.”

All funeral services will take place at St. Benedict Church, 2215 W. Irving Park Road in Chicago. Visitation hours will be Tuesday, Jan. 14, from 3 to 8 p.m. and Wednesday, Jan. 15 from 9 to 10 a.m. The funeral Mass will take place on Wednesday, Jan. 15 at 10 a.m. and will be celebrated by Bishop Robert Casey, vicar general of the archdiocese. Kastigar will be the homilist.

Interment will occur at Maryhill Catholic Cemetery in Niles.