Welcome to Our Lady of Grace and St. Sylvester Parish.

ARCHDIOCESE OF CHICAGO

Office of the Archbishop

835 North Rush Street

Chicago, Illinois 60611

312.534.8230

archchicago.org

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DECREE

IN THE NAME OF GOD. AMEN.

Changing demographics have affected the size and wealth of the Archdiocese of

Chicago and the vitality of her parishes. This is particularly true in the City of Chicago itself,

where the total population fell by nearly 21% since 1970, from 3,366,957 to an estimated

2,686,530 in 2020. The archdiocese has many vacant, old, and underused parochial buildings

and fewer priests to pastor our faith communities.

According to the US Census Bureau, the Archdiocese of Chicago (Cook and Lake

Counties in Illinois) had an estimated total population of 5,881,250 in 2018. The 20^8 Annuario

Pontificio indicated our archdiocese had 345 parishes serving a Catholic population of

2,512,000: an average of 7,281 Catholics per parish. According to the same source, the

Archdiocese of Los Angeles had a total population of 11,519,517, with 287 parishes for a

Catholic population of 4,362,000: an average of 15,199 Catholics per parish. For the

Archdiocese of New York, the figures were 2,656,987 Catholics in 294 parishes, an average

9,037 Catholics per parish. A good number of our parishes were founded in the first half of the

last century or earlier. Many were established for national, linguistic, or ethnic groups that no

longer reside in the archdiocese or in the neighborhoods where they once flourished.

Many of our parishes are unable or barely able to support themselves. Consequently,

many have been receiving financial subsidies from the archdiocese. From fiscal year 2012

through fiscal year 2020 the Archdiocese of Chicago provided $177,109,682.00 in support to

parishes and Catholic schools: $46,332,584.00 to 106 parishes and $130,777,098.00 to 83

Catholic schools. This was an increase of $14,777,155.00 over a single year: $3,711,999.00

more to parishes and $11,064,156.00 more to Catholic schools. Completely due to the

generosity of the faithful people of the archdiocese and other gracious donors, these subsidies

cannot continue at this high level, especially in times of enormous economic strain. Our mission

is to convert our parishes, helping them to become more vital, that is, active centers of Christian

discipleship, evangelical mission, scholarship, and charitable outreach. For this the parishes

need a growing and stable membership and the financial means to support themselves.

Nearly six years ago, inspired by the experience of St. Francis of Assisi before the cross

of the ruined church of San Damiano and the Holy Father's dream of "a missionary option ...

capable of transforming everything" (Pope Francis, Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, n.

27, November 24, 2013), and with wide and continuing consultation among the clergy and lay

faithful of the Archdiocese of Chicago, particularly in the Presbyteral Council, we embarked on

the inauguration of Renew My Church (RMC). This is our multi-year process aimed at

converting our parishes for mission. It is the intention that every parish join with some of its

neighbors (groupings) to plan the future. Careful planning will create a menu of possibilities.

We are identifying parishes to be reconfigured through pastoral coordination with neighboring

parishes, divisions, unions, and other structural and governance changes.

This decree concerns two parishes located within a territory of less than two and onequarter

square miles in the Logan Square and Avondale neighborhoods on the Northside of the

City of Chicago: St. Sylvester Parish (founded in 1884), 2915 West Palmer Street, Chicago,

Illinois 60647-3856; and Our Lady of Grace Parish (founded 1909), 2455 North Hamlin Avenue,

Chicago, Illinois 60647-2229.

Today the two parishes serve an area of the City having a significant Spanish-speaking

Catholic population for more than 40 years. Recently the area has been experiencing the

phenomenon of gentrification, with properties being improved for sale and occupancy by mostly

English-speaking and more affluent individuals and families. In 2019 the average Sunday

assembly St. Sylvester Parish was 1,031 (28% English-speaking, 64% Spanish-speaking, and

8% bilingual). In the same year the average Sunday assembly at Our Lady of Grace Parish was

982 (15% English and 85% Spanish). There were significant declines in Sunday attendance

over the last 10 years in both parishes: 37% at St. Sylvester Parish (from 1,637 to 1,031) and

33% at Our Lady of Grace Parish (from 1,474 to 982).

In Fiscal year 2019, St. Sylvester Parish had an operating deficit of $128,807.00, unmet

capital needs of $1,620,950.001, a total debt of $979,047.00, and savings of $40,841.00. In the

same fiscal year. Our Lady of Grace Parish had no operating deficit, unknown capital needs

(assessment being completed February 2021), a total debt of $432,291.00, and savings of

$87,291.00. Neither parish had sufficient assets or income to meet either its present or future

needs.

Following consultations last year with lay and clergy members of the parishes, including

input from parishioners at large, a report was submitted to the Archdiocesan Standards and

Recommendations Commission, a group of lay and clergy representatives from across the

Archdiocese of Chicago. Recently, the Commission submitted its recommendations to the

pastoral leadership of the archdiocese. Due to the small size of the territory of each parish,

fewer priests to serve a pastors, significant and ongoing decline in active participation at Sunday

Mass, operating deficits, declining incomes, and unmet capital needs, the area can no longer

sustain two parishes serving the same demographics. Consequently, the recommendations

proposed that St. Sylvester Parish and Our Lady of Grace Parish be extinguished as separate

juridic persons in the Church and united to form one new juridic person, a territorial parish within

the combined territories of the two parishes, with St. Sylvester Church as the parish church.

THEREFORE, know that I, Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, according to

the norms of canon 50, canon 127 §§1 &3, canon 166, and canon 515 §2 of the Code of Canon

Law, have before me the proposal that St. Sylvester Parish and Our Lady of Grace Parish, both

on the Northside of the City of Chicago, be extinguished as a separate juridic persons in the

Church and united to form one new juridic person, a territorial parish within the combined

territorial boundaries of the two parishes, with St. Sylvester Church to be designated the parish

church. Know also, I convened the Presbyteral Council of the Archdiocese of Chicago via video

conference over the internet on January 15, 18-19, 2021. Then, after hearing the Presbyteral

Council and receiving its vote of 34 for and 1 against the proposal, I accepted the Presbyteral

Council's advice and now, Invoking the Holy Spirit,

decree the following:

1. Effective July 1, 2021, the above-mentioned St. Sylvester Parish and Our Lady of

Grace Parish will be extinguished as separate juridic persons in the Church and united to form

one new juridic person, a territorial parish within the combined territorial boundaries of the two

parishes, and called, ad interim, Our Lady of Grace and St. Sylvester Parish;

2. The missions of the extinguished parishes will be subsumed into those of the new Our

Lady of Grace and St. Sylvester Parish;

3. Each and all the parishioners of the extinguished St. Sylvester Parish and the

extinguished Our Lady of Grace Parish, along with the faithful domiciled within the new parish

boundaries, will be parishioners of the new Our Lady of Grace and St. Sylvester Parish;

4. The temtory of the new Our Lady of Grace and St. Sylvester Parish will be as

described and depicted in the documents and map attached to this decree;

5. Subject to the intention of founders and donors, and with due regard for any acquired

rights, the goods and patrimonial rights of the extinguished St. Sylvester Parish and the

extinguished Our Lady of Grace Parish, together with any obligations with which they may be

burdened, will be those of the new Our Lady of Grace and St. Sylvester Parish; (see canon

121);

6. The churches of the extinguished St. Sylvester Parish and the extinguished Our Lady

of Grace Parish will be churches of the new Our Lady of Grace and St. Sylvester Parish, and St.

Sylvester Church will be designated the parish church of the new parish;

7. The data submitted to the Presbyteral Council on this matter, together with the minutes

of the Council meeting of December January 15,18-19, 2021, are to be attached to this decree

and will become available upon request to those eligible to receive them;

8. The sacramental records and other materials relevant to historical research pertaining

to the extinguished St. Sylvester Parish and the extinguished Our Lady of Grace Parish will be

collected and maintained at the St. Sylvester Church campus, unless othenfl/ise determined by

the expert staff of the Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Archives and Records Center of the

Archdiocese of Chicago; and

9. Notification of this decree shall be given immediately through the official website of the

Archdiocese of Chicago. The decree shall be conveyed to the pastors of St. Sylvester Parish

and Our Lady of Grace Parish. As soon as possible, the pastors shall inform their parishioners

through the parish bulletin or other suitable means.

Before hierarchical recourse (appeal) may be taken against this decree, a written, dated,

and signed petition to revoke or amend the decree must be delivered to me within ten (10)

useful days from notification of the decree (C\C cc. 1734, 1735, 1737).

Given this 11'^ day of February, A.D. 2021.

From Holy Name Cathedral,

Chicago, Illinois

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Explanation of the Decree of Unification

 

Dear parishioners,

In this weekend’s bulletin, you will see a 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.

The decree states that Our Lady of Grace and St. Sylvester 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 Our Lady of Grace and St. Sylvester 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. Sylvester Church will be the parish church of the new parish and that the church of Our Lady of Grace will be a church of the new parish. A couple of notes on this:

One implication of St. Sylvester being designated the parish church means that the sacramental records of the new parish, as well as the past sacramental records of each of St. Sylvester and Our Lady of Grace will be maintained at the offices on the St. Sylvester 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. Sylvester campus.

Second, the decree states that each of the churches of St. Sylvester and Our Lady of Grace 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 announcement on Jan. 20, both St. Sylvester and Our Lady of Grace 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 months.

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.  

Explicación del Decreto de Unificación

 

Queridos feligreses,

En el boletín de este fin de semana, verán un decreto firmado por el Cardenal Cupich. Un decreto es un pronunciamiento o documento que formaliza una decisión dentro de la Iglesia. En este caso, el decreto incluido aquí se refiere a la decisión de que nuestras parroquias se unifiquen como una sola parroquia nueva después del discernimiento de nuestra agrupación durante “Renueva mi Iglesia”.

El decreto establece que Nuestra Señora de Gracia y San Silvestre formarán una nueva parroquia el 1 de julio. El decreto establece que la nueva parroquia tendrá un nombre provisional. Esto significa que la parroquia se llamará Parroquia “Nuestra Señora de Gracia y San Silvestre” hasta que propongamos un nuevo nombre al Cardenal Cupich para su consideración y aprobación.  

Cuando lean el decreto, notarán que el decreto establece que la Iglesia de San Silvestre será la iglesia parroquial de la nueva parroquia y que las iglesias de San Silvestre y Nuestra Señora de Gracia serán iglesias de la nueva parroquia. Un par de notas sobre esto:

Una de las implicaciones de que San Silvestre sea designada como la iglesia parroquial significa que los registros sacramentales de la nueva parroquia, así como los registros sacramentales anteriores de cada una de las parroquias, San Silvestre y Nuestra Señora de Gracia se conservarán en las oficinas de las instalaciones de San Silvestre. Por el momento, los registros de cada parroquia permanecerán en sus ubicaciones actuales, y actualizaremos a todos cuando los registros estén completamente reunidos en la oficina en las instalaciones de San Silvestre.

Segundo, el decreto establece que cada una de las iglesias San Silvestre y Nuestra Señora de Gracia serán iglesias de la nueva parroquia. Cuando se forma una nueva parroquia, todos los bienes de cada parroquia anterior pasan a formar parte de la nueva parroquia. Esto incluye las iglesias. Como se informó en el anuncio del 20 de enero, tanto San Silvestre como Nuestra Señora de Gracia continuarán teniendo un horario regular para la Misa. El horario específico de la misa después del 1 de julio es un tema importante que discutiremos con la dirección de la parroquia en los próximos meses.

En cuanto al nombre de la nueva parroquia, habrá un proceso que incluirá a todos. Los mantendremos informados sobre el calendario de cuándo comenzará este proceso para considerar el nombre de la parroquia.

Hasta entonces, aferrémonos a la promesa del Señor de que Él está siempre con nosotros, y confiemos en el hecho de que Él está trabajando de manera especial dentro de nuestra comunidad de fe y está creando algo nuevo para todos nosotros.

 

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