Here is the Latest News:
Easter at St. Gertrude
Our First Communion Mass is at Capacity
Easter at St. Gertrude
Love is Love is Love
Our First Communion Mass is at Capacity
Easter at St. Gertrude
Our First Communion Mass is at Capacity
Our First Communion Mass is at Capacity
Mass Schedule, Registration, Live-Stream & Rectory Hours
Mass Schedule, Registration, Live-Stream & Rectory Hours
Missing the Latest Parish News? Check out (or Sign up for) our Weekly E-Bulletins
Mass Schedule, Registration, Live-Stream & Rectory Hours
Read our Religious Education Weekly Newsletter
Missing the Latest Parish News? Check out (or Sign up for) our Weekly E-Bulletins
Missing the Latest Parish News? Check out (or Sign up for) our Weekly E-Bulletins
Missing the Latest Parish News? Check out (or Sign up for) our Weekly E-Bulletins
Missing the Latest Parish News? Check out (or Sign up for) our Weekly E-Bulletins
Missing the Latest Parish News? Check out (or Sign up for) our Weekly E-Bulletins
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Parish News
Please Pick-Up First Communion Banner Kits Beginning This Tuesday, April 20
Beginning Tuesday, April 20, First Communion families are asked to stop by the Rectory during office hours to pick up kits to make First Communion banners. The Rectory office is open from 9:00 am-2:30 pm Monday-Saturday, and 8:30-11:30 am on Sunday. Please call us at 773.764.3621 before coming.
These banners will feature each child's name and various First Communion symbols and will be hung on pews during the First Communion Mass. We ask they be completed by Saturday, May 1.
Father Bill Kenneally's 60th Ordination Anniversary: Cards Requested
Father Bill Kenneally, pastor of St. Gertrude for 22 years, is celebrating the 60th anniversary of his ordination this year on May 1. Currently, Fr. Bill is residing at St. Benedict's nursing home in Niles, a retirement home for priests, and has had a challenging year.
Anniversary greetings can be sent to him here:
Rev. Bill Kenneally
St. Benedict Home
6930 Touhy Ave.
Niles, IL 60714
Renew My Church Update
This weekend and next, we begin implementing the tri-parish transition process as a result of the Renew My Church initiative. This Sunday, April 18, Fr. Noel Reyes from St. Jerome will preside at the Spanish language Mass at St. Ignatius at 11:00 am, followed by a gathering and Q & A opportunity for parishioners of St. Ignatius with parishioners and pastors from St. Jerome and St. Gertrude.
Next Sunday, April 25, I will preside at the 9:00 am English language Mass and all of us will again be available at a gathering for St. Ignatius parishioners after the Mass.
In the next few weeks, we will share some dates when we have invited St. Ignatius parishioners to visit St. Jerome and/or St. Gertrude parishes to see if they are interested in joining either parish.
As we have been discussing since this initiative began, while we expect most of the Spanish-speaking parishioners to transition to St. Jerome and most of the English-speaking parishioners to transition to St. Gertrude, it is up to each parishioner to make their own determination. For parishioners with children, Religious Education may be a significant part of the decision-making process. Families may choose to join St. Jerome, where they have the option of a Spanish-language R.E. program and worshipping in Spanish. Or if they prefer an English-speaking R.E. program and worship in English, they may opt to join St. Gertrude.
Special thanks to the volunteers from the Parish Pastoral Council and Renew My Church groups who will be representing St. Gertrude at these initial gatherings and will be the coordinators of our hospitality for the St. Ignatius parishioners when they come to visit. This same group of volunteers will be part of a team composed of representatives from the other parishes, as well as representatives from Loyola University and the Jesuit Community at Loyola as we consider the possibility of a joint Mission Center involving the parishes and the university.
~ Father Rich
Seeking Donated Textbooks
One of the organizations with which our Refugee Committee has contact with is Jovenes Adelante, which is a part of Maryville Academy. They provide temporary shelter for children who have crossed the border and are in the process of being united with family in the Chicagoland area.
Their director, Mary McCann Sanchez, is seeking math textbooks, especially for grade levels 3 - 8.
Please email Jim Manzardo at jbmanz@att.net or Mary McCann Sanchez at mccannm@maryvilleacademy.org if you need more information or to arrange a donation of textbooks.
Vicariate II Novena to St. Catherine of Siena: In-Person and Live-Streamed Thursday, April 20-Wednesday, April 28
Join Most Reverend Mark Bartosic, Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago, Episcopal Vicar of Vicariate II, as we journey together to St. Catherine of Siena’s Feast Day, on Thursday, April 29. This is the second Novena by Catholic laity to prayerfully unite the faithful for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, in healing and atonement for the clergy sexual abuse crisis.
The nine-day novena will be both live-streamed and in-person at nine different locations.
RCIA: Celebrating the Easter Sacraments
On Holy Saturday, April 3 at the Easter Vigil, those in the RCIA celebrated the Easter Sacraments. Congratulations to Jessica Navarro, Corina Cleja, and Daniel Geihsler on becoming members of the Catholic Church and our faith community!
Thank You to Our Parish Volunteers!
The past few weeks have required extra time and energy from so many of our volunteers in order to rehearse and then serve at all the services of Palm Sunday, Holy Week, and Easter! This year was particularly a challenge because of all the pandemic protocols which have been unique for all these services. Our wonderful and generous corps of liturgical ministers and Covid protocol volunteers greeting and cleaning church after each service has done a magnificent job!
As I have mentioned before, we have been so blessed by the generosity of all these ministers which have not only helped us pray with reverence and grace, but also make it possible for our church to be open and welcoming to everyone. THANK YOU!
~ Father Rich
Father Rich's Thoughts on the Vatican Statement on Same-Sex Marriage
"Love is love is love."
Chicago Vaccine Angels Will Help Seniors and Essential Workers Schedule a Vaccine
If you or a loved one aged 65 and over are having difficulty finding a vaccine, or have trouble using a computer to book one, a group called Chicago Vaccine Angels will help you. Started by an Evanston teen in February, the group has booked over 1,200 people for vaccines in the Chicago area for free.
The team is working on booking those people in PHASES 1A/1C. Please fill out this google form for help.
If you have any questions, please email chicagovaccineangels@gmail.com or call 312-600-8925.
First Reconciliation
On Monday, March 15, 31 students from Northside Catholic Academy and our parish's Religious Education program made their First Reconciliation. We were so grateful to the students who worked hard to prepare for this important day and for the loving support they received from their families.
Special thanks to the following Religious Ed and NCA teachers for preparing their students - Kevin Chears, Ginevra Clark, Ewa Jablonska, and Cristine Salazar.
We also thank Mary Clare Barker, our musician, as well as Father Mike Gabriel, Father Mike Bradley, Father Louis, and Father Rich.
Golden Wedding Anniversary Celebration Planned for Sunday, September 19, 2021
The Archdiocese of Chicago's Golden Wedding Anniversary Mass is scheduled to be held on Sunday, September 19, 2021 at 2:30 pm at Holy Name Cathedral. Couples celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary this year are invited to participate. Please note, this Mass is planned as a live event with participants attending on-site.
With the uncertainty of how the COVID-19 virus will be this fall, this Mass may need to be moved to an online liturgy due to ongoing mitigation efforts associated with the pandemic. More details on the Mass, including location and relevant COVID-19 precautions, will be available in early summer 2021. Couples interested in participating can register here. Please contact familyministries@archchicago.org with any questions.
Recruiting Ministers of Praise
Interested in joining a special ministry that has no required meetings, no dues, or outside responsibilities? Yet its participants have a valued connection to our parish life. You can enrich your life by praying for others every day.
Here’s how it works: we provide our committed participants (you) with a monthly guide sheet reflecting some of the prayer petitions taken from St. Gertrude Church’s Prayer Wall. You then refer to this guide every day as you pray. As one of our prayer angels, you become an unseen blessing to so many.
We welcome your interest in this caring Ministry of Praise. Please contact Jane Callahan-Moore by calling the Rectory office at 773.764.3621.
St. Gertrude’s Virtual Auction!
Thank You for Supporting our Parish Auction
We are so grateful for the overwhelming support of our parish's Auction 2021! We have raised more than $28,000 - exceeding our target of $25,000!
There were so many people that helped make the Auction a success. The Auction Committee - David Sullivan, Laura Pigozzi, and Kathy Krokar - did an amazing job planning the auction and guiding us all through it! Dorothea Tobin worked so hard to get donations for our auction, Mary Clare generously shared her incredible musical talent with us, and Greg Pierce served as our auctioneer at our live event. We are equally grateful for Margie Guadagno, Laurie Hasbrook, and Kevin Chears, some of our amazing Rectory staff, who put in so much time to make the Auction happen.
Thank you to everyone that donated items, placed a bid, and joined in our Live Auction. We are so grateful that so many people helped and participated!
If you did bid on an item and win, it is available to pick up at our Rectory office, open from 9:00 am-2:30 pm Monday-Saturday and 8:30-11:30 am on Sunday. Please call us at 773.764.3621 before coming and observe the Parishioner Guidelines for Visiting the Rectory.
If those times do not work for you, please call the office or email stgertrude1420@stgertrudechicago.org to make alternative arrangements.
