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WELCOME TO SAINT HEDWIG CATHOLIC CHURCH 

Celebrating 132 years in the Bucktown Community and administered by the Congregation of the Resurrection  

Explanation of the Decree of Unification

 Dear St. Hedwig Parishioners,

We have received the decree signed by Cardinal Cupich. A decree is a pronouncement or document that formalizes a decision within the Church. In this case, the decree included here concerns the decision for our parishes to unify as a new parish after our grouping’s Renew My Church discernment.

Please note the decree is a legal document that addresses only a narrow set of items per church law. For example, a decree does not address school ministry. As we know, St. John Berchmans School will remain as it is under the new united parish, but that is out of the scope of the legal nature of the decree.

The decree states that St. Hedwig and St. John Berchmans will form a new parish on July 1, 2021. The decree states the new parish will have an ad interim name. This means that the parish will be called Saints Hedwig and John Berchmans Parish until we propose a new name to Cardinal Cupich for his consideration and approval. 

When you read the decree, you will notice the decree states St. Hedwig Church will be the parish church of the new parish and that the church of St. John Berchmans will be a church of the new parish. A couple of notes on this:

When two or more parishes unite as one parish, Rome requires that the united parish’s sacramental records be kept in one place and for that location to be designated in the decree as the parish church. Thus, in the future the sacramental records of the new parish, as well as the past sacramental records of each of St. Hedwig and St. John Berchmans will be maintained at the offices on the St. Hedwig campus. For the current time, each parish’s records will remain at their current locations, and we will update everyone when the records are fully brought together at the office on the St. Hedwig campus.

Second, the decree states that each of the churches of St. Hedwig and St. John Berchmans will be churches of the new parish. When a new parish is formed, all of the assets of each former parish become part of the new parish. This includes the churches. As shared at the recent announcement, both St. Hedwig and St. John Berchmans will continue to have a regular schedule for Mass. The specific Mass schedule after July 1 is an important topic we will discuss with parish leadership in the coming weeks.

Regarding the name of the new parish, there will be a process to include everyone. We will keep you updated on the timeline of when this process to consider a parish name will begin.

Until then, let us hold fast to the Lord’s promise that He is with us always, and trust in the fact that He is at work in a special way within our faith community and is creating something new for all of us. 

Polish

Spanish

CLICK HERE to read the Decree of Unification

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O most holy heart of Jesus, fountain of every blessing, I adore you, I love you, and with lively sorrow for my sins I offer you this poor heart of mine. Make me humble, patient, pure and wholly obedient to your will. Grant, Good Jesus, that I may live in you and for you. Protect me in the midst of danger. Comfort me in my afflictions. Give me health of body, assistance in my temporal needs, your blessing on all that I do, and the grace of a holy death. Amen.

Daily readings         Audio

Reading the Bible

What is unique or different about the way Catholics read and are exposed to the Bible?

Catholics are exposed to Scripture primarily through the Sunday readings from a book known as the Lectionary. The Lectionary is a book of selected passages from the Bible set in the context of a liturgical season, such as Advent, Lent, or ordinary time. There are four readings assigned to any Sunday: the first reading (usually from the Old Testament), the responsorial psalm, the second reading (usually from a New Testament letter), and the Gospel reading.

These readings together give them a new context. The selected readings relate to one another in a unique manner that is not present in the Bible text itself. In close proximity to each other, these readings now have the opportunity to converse with each other in a way that would have not been possible before. A homilist pays attention to all four readings, preparing a reflection that speaks of this conversation among the readings, enabling us to zero in on what this unique combination of God’s word has to say to us this particular Sunday.

Next time you attend Sunday liturgy, try reading the Scripture ahead of time and see how this new relationship among the readings addresses and challenges you to be a better Christian here and now.

©LPi