Media Alerts

WHAT: The Archdiocese of Chicago, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and other Cook County officials will hold a committal service to bury indigent, unidentified and unborn persons on Wednesday, June 7, 2023 at 1:30 p.m. at Mt. Olivet Cemetery. The service will be live-streamed on President Preckwinkle’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/PresidentPreckwinkle/

The committal service will include burial of one unidentified person, 57 unborn persons and 314 cremated indigent remains.

Cook County, through the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office, is entrusted with the final disposition of indigent deceased, unidentified deceased and fetal remains. The Archdiocese of Chicago Catholic Cemeteries has agreed to provide burial as a public service.

Rev. Lawrence Sullivan, director of Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Chicago, will preside over the service and lead the blessing of the caskets. Local funeral directors and other volunteers will accompany each decedent at the service and stay until the burial is complete.

Since 2012, Catholic Cemeteries, the archdiocese and Cook County have worked together with help from the Cook County Funeral Directors Association, Worsham College of Mortuary Science and Malcolm X College to bury the indigent, unborn and unidentified persons.

WHEN: Wednesday, June 7, 2023 at 1:30 p.m.

WHERE: Mt. Olivet Cemetery, 2755 W.111th St., Chicago

WHO:
• Rev. Lawrence Sullivan, director of Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Chicago
• Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle
• Local funeral directors and volunteers
• Cook County commissioners

CONTACTS:
Susan Thomas
Archdiocese of Chicago
312.805.9102 (cell)
[email protected]

Natalia Derevyanny
Cook County
312.718.4125
[email protected]

WHAT: Queen of Martyrs School in Evergreen Park will be the new home for a statue, which features children of a parish family from more than 70 years ago, that was originally located at the former St. Bernadette School in Evergreen Park. On Friday, May 26, 2023 at 1 p.m., the Queen of Martyrs School community will gather to dedicate the statue with pastor Fr. Benedykt Pazdan who will also offer a blessing.

The six-foot marble statue features Jesus flanked by a toddler boy and young girl who were siblings and parishioners of St. Bernadette Church. Bill Hardy, now in his 70s, is the boy in the statue and he will be on-hand for the dedication and blessing, and he will share with students how he and his family were part of the statue’s creation.

The statue was restored by a current parishioner and he will also attend the gathering.

Queen of Martyrs Church and St. Bernadette Church unified in 2022 as part the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Renew My Church initiative. The unified parish’s new name is St. Gianna Molla.

WHEN: Friday, May 26, 2023. Students will gather at 1 p.m. with dedication and blessing starting at 1:30 p.m.

WHERE: Queen of Martyrs School, 3550 W. 103rd St., Evergreen Park

WHAT: The Archdiocesan Gay and Lesbian Outreach of Chicago (AGLOChicago) is partnering with Loyola University Chicago’s Institute of Pastoral Studies (IPS) to present a spring retreat series on what it means to be LGBTQ+ and Catholic. The four-part retreat is open to all as a unique learning opportunity for those who identify as LGBTQ+ and those who do not. The group will meet once per week for four weeks online or in-person at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish Ministry Center from May 24 – June 16, 2023, starting just after Pentecost and ending on the Feast Day of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Registration is $40 for the series and is available now at https://www.aglochicago.org/retreat.

Last fall, AGLO and IPS hosted a similar series and received inquiries from family members and friends of the LGBTQ+ community who were seeking information on what they could do for those who have left the Church and how they can support their children and friends. AGLO and IPS are answering that call by offering the retreat again for anyone seeking to understand what it means to be LGBTQ+ and Catholic, and for those struggling to reconcile and unify these sometimes-competing identities.

The retreat is steeped in biblical tradition and will examine specific texts from Sacred Scripture, both Old and New Testaments. The goals are to help understand God’s desire to be with those present on the margins and to create an authentic community by growing in faith and sharing in meaningful discussion.

Additional note: AGLO will celebrate its 35th anniversary of ministering to the LGBTQ+ Catholic community in Chicago with a special Mass on Sunday, June 18, 2023.

WHEN: Retreat runs from May 24 – June 16, 2023

WHERE: Online or in-person at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish Ministry Center, 708 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago