Noticias

The Archdiocese of Chicago announced an update on the Prospect, Arlington Heights-Buffalo Grove-Wheeling and Hanover Township Renew My Church groupings.

The Prospect grouping includes two parishes and one school:

• St. Alphonsus Liguori Parish, Prospect Heights
• St. Alphonsus Liguori School, Prospect Heights
• St. Thomas Becket Parish, Mt. Prospect

The Arlington Heights-Buffalo Grove-Wheeling grouping includes five parishes and three schools:

• Our Lady of the Wayside Parish, Arlington Heights

• Our Lady of the Wayside School, Arlington Heights
• St. Edna Parish, Arlington Heights
• St. James Parish, Arlington Heights
• St. James School, Arlington Heights
• St. Mary Parish, Buffalo Grove
• St. Mary School, Buffalo Grove
• St. Joseph the Worker Parish, Wheeling

The Hanover Township grouping includes three parishes and one school:

• St. Ansgar Parish, Hanover Park
• St. John the Evangelist Parish, Streamwood
• St. John the Evangelist School, Streamwood
• St. Peter Damian Parish, Bartlett

Over the past several months, the groupings’ Feedback and Discernment Teams, made up of representatives from 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 feedback and other 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:

 

Prospect Grouping:

• St. Alphonsus Liguori and St. Thomas Becket will unite as one parish with two worship sites, one pastor and one pastoral team, effective July 1, 2023.  
• Both churches will continue to host a regular schedule of Masses that will be determined by the pastor in consultation with parish leadership.  
• St. Thomas Becket will be the parish church where the united parish’s sacramental records will be kept.  
• The local community will discern possibilities for the new permanent name of the united parish, within archdiocesan guidelines, and submit up to five options to Cardinal Cupich. Each church will retain its name.  
• St. Alphonsus Liguori School will continue in its current structure however, future viability will be revisited if the school is unable to maintain financial independence.

Arlington Heights- Buffalo Grove-Wheeling Grouping:

• All parishes and schools will retain their current structures. 

Hanover Township Grouping:

• The Commission and Presbyteral Council recommended taking more time for additional discernment on the needs of Spanish and Polish ministries. Once the results of that discernment are clear, and a recommendation made on pastoral needs, options for parish structure will be reviewed.   

• St. John the Evangelist School will continue with no changes. 

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.