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My dear parishioners,
It is with sadness that we have received the news of the passing of our Holy Father, Pope Francis. His passing is a great loss for the whole Catholic Church. We lost a universal Shepherd, who led the Church according to the Heart of Jesus, his master. As we mourn Pope Francis's passing, we also believe that he has gone home to eternal glory. We believe in the resurrection of the dead, the core message of our faith. During this Easter, it has pleased God to call Pope Francis back home. We give thanks to God! I invite you all to pray a Rosary for Pope Francis and the Catholic Church in your homes. As a parish, we are invited to intensify our prayer for the eternal rest of his soul and to follow the guidelines provided by the Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Chicago:
Rev. Jean-Philippe Lokpo Pastor A Letter from Fr. Jean-Philippe Lokpo, Pastor
My dear parishioners, Last week I informed the staff, the Parish Finance Council, and the Parish Pastoral Council of challenges I am having getting my immigration status extended. The US is processing Permanent Resident Card (“green card”) applications very slowly due to an unusually high volume of applications. Although I submitted all the required paperwork in 2022, they have yet to act on my application. This backlog has already impacted Fr. Godwin Kornu and will soon impact Fr. José Manuel Ortiz. Without a green card, foreign-born priests must return to their country of origin for a year and then be re-issued an R-1 (religious) visa. In accordance with this, Fr. José will be returning to Mexico this July. If a green card is issued before the year is completed, the applicant can immediately return to the United States. My R-1 visa will expire in October of this year. The Comboni Provincial Superior of North America and I are exploring options for an interim administrator for the parish should that become necessary. I will also work with our staff, the PPC, and the PFC on ways to increase their involvement in the parish if I must be absent for a period of time. No matter what happens, the parish will be in good hands. I ask for your prayers and your understanding as we navigate this challenge. I am concerned about the disruption this will cause for our St. John XXIII Parish, yet I trust in God’s hand in this and in His care for our faith community. I will keep the councils and you apprised of any new developments. I also ask you to pray for the passage of the recently-introduced Religious Workforce Protection Act (H.R. 2672; S. 1298) , which would allow a religious worker’s R-1 visa to be extended while they wait for a decision on their permanent residence application. Please reach out to me or our parish leadership if you have any questions. With prayers for our parish family, Fr. Jean-Philippe Lokpo Over the next several months, we will be highlighting the "Saintly Six," the six Catholic men and women of African descent who were born or worked in the United States and are currently on the path to sainthood. Each lived a heroic life with valor and holiness in the face of slavery and racism. What can we do? We can study and gain inspiration from their lives, pray to them for spiritual aid, and pray for their continued advancement toward canonization. The lead story is about Augustus Tolton, the first American-born, recognized-African American priest. Below is a brief article put together by parishioner Jane Colleton about Tolton's remarkably courageous and steadfast life.
On his return to America, he was assigned as pastor of a Black church in Quincy, St. Joseph, which had but a handful of Black congregants. When many white Catholics from other churches began to regularly attend his Sunday Mass there, the jealousy of nearby priests forced him to seek reassignment. In 1889, he transferred to Chicago and became pastor of the Black Catholic community on Chicago’s southside, which by 1893 worshiped at the partially-completed St. Monica Church. He died July 8, 1897, of heat stroke during a Chicago heat wave at the age of 43. Chicago’s retired auxiliary, Bishop Joseph N. Perry, is co-postulator (official advocate) for the cause of Fr. Tolton’s canonization. He writes: “Father Tolton shows us in his own life’s pattern that we can find blessing in everything, even what is most painful. His story is one of suffering service. Through his experiences of racial negation by a society that would separate black and white by force of the law and lawless custom, Tolton found the love of God, found his own vocation and ultimately has received his reward from God as a figure of Christian faith in action, indiscriminate love of neighbor and pastoral charity despite the bigotry that was thrown at him.” A Chicago Archdiocesan sketch about Tolton describes sainthood: “To be canonized, someone must live a life of heroic virtue at a level above and beyond the ordinary practice of Christian virtue. This would include constancy at prayer, perseverance through great trials, patience in intense suffering, notable practice of the works of mercy, especially for the poor and suffering, and outstanding zeal in the spreading of God’s love and mercy in word and deed for the salvation of souls and the glory of God” The US Conference of Catholic Bishops further explains: “In official Church procedures there are three steps to sainthood: a candidate becomes "Servant of God," then "Venerable" and then "Blessed." Venerable is the title given to a deceased person recognized formally by the Pope as having lived a heroically virtuous life or offered their life.” Father Tolton’s cause has reached the Venerable stage. For more information, visit tolton.archchicago.org.
See also: The History of Black Catholics in the United States by Cyprian Davis, pg 152-162 To report any spiritual or physical favors granted through prayer in Father Tolton’s name, contact Fr. Jean-Philippe and write: The Office of the Cardinal, Archdiocese of Chicago, 835 North Rush St, Chicago, IL 60611 The text of the reflection offered by representatives of Solidarity Bridge for the First Sunday of Lent (Deb Winarski, Catherine Werner, Maria Eugenia Brockmann, and Alvaro Encinas). Find Lent resources from Solidarity Bridge here. Donate in support of the mission here. Good morning church! My name is Deb Winarski and since 2014, I have been a volunteer, technology consultant, and missioner with Solidarity Bridge. As a lay initiative of the Archdiocese of Chicago, Solidarity Bridge responds to the gospel call to heal the sick. We connect medical practitioners in the US to their peers in Bolivia and Paraguay to help increase access to surgery and other essential care. We’re located here in Evanston, and we have deep roots in this parish community. Our founder, Executive Director, and many staff have been parishioners and so many of YOU serve on our board, travel with us or connect deeply to our work in other ways right here at home. We’re so grateful to be with you as we begin the season of Lent! Luke tells us in today's Gospel: “Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness." The wilderness - Harsh terrain, hot and dusty air, rugged, remote, desolate.... Throughout scripture, wilderness is a physical landscape -- a place of long, harsh challenges where survival is threatened. But this physical landscape is also a symbol for the particularly rugged moments of life. For some of us, this wilderness is marked by the loss of a loved one, or worry for a child’s wellbeing. For others, it’s the financial stress of a sudden job loss or the incredible fear of deportation and family separation. Most of us will at some point have experiences encountering the wilderness in acute or prolonged illness. And the wilderness of illness is particularly treacherous in the parts of our world where access to health care is limited. Solidarity Bridge aims to respond to this wilderness reality. With our partners in Bolivia and Paraguay, we provide surgical care to patients in need through short term mission trips and year-round programs. And we build bridges that channel critical resources of training, skill building, supplies, equipment, and perhaps more importantly, solidarity and accompaniment. This solidarity and accompaniment allow us to glimpse some of the harsh reality our partners and patients experience. In Bolivia, for example, there are only 2 public cancer hospitals and 3 radiation centers to serve more than 12 million people. People travel tremendous distances and endure months-long waits for care. A scarcity of early detection resources means patients tend to be diagnosed at very advanced stages, making surgeries more complex and financially out of reach for most. Our team recently met one of these patients in Santa Cruz. Mirko was a husband and a father and, at just 29 years old, he had had an unusual type of tumor in his abdomen. For months, he received frequent blood transfusions because the tumor caused hemorrhaging. He couldn’t eat, lost a tremendous amount of weight and was unable to work. His wife took on extra shifts at the bank and his mother moved back to Bolivia from Chile to take care of him. Their close knit family was scared and desperate for medical care. But, the surgery he needed was not available at the public hospital and the cost in the private sector was out of reach. His family believed they were out of options and were devastated. Duke professor Dr. Kate Bowler says, “Lent invites us to sit in the wilderness and hold space for life’s fragility. And yet,” she says, “It’s also where God meets us - in the mess and in the ache.” We see this throughout scripture. The wilderness is indeed harsh and heartbreaking, but it is also the place where God breaks in; where important spiritual encounters take place. Liturgist Peter Moser calls this, “the place from which change comes—the promise of something new and life-giving.” “The promise of something new and life-giving” is also part of the wilderness story we encounter at Solidarity Bridge. I saw a beautiful example of this at the public cancer hospital in Sucre, Bolivia. Less than 10 years ago, there was no public facility for cancer treatment anywhere in the region. Patients with treatable cancers were suffering needlessly and dying far too soon. Local doctors knew their patients deserved better and decided to create that better option themselves. They found a vacant run-down building. When told that there was no money for its renovation, the doctors and nurses did the work themselves - construction, painting, securing equipment - they did it all. Today, this gleaming hospital has two top-rate operating rooms and a pathology lab that serves the whole region...and it is still staffed by many of the medical team whose determination and commitment brought it into existence. A place from which change comes—the promise of something new and life-giving. Four years ago, our US medical teams began offering these surgeons in Sucre training in laparoscopic techniques and helped procure specialized equipment needed for those procedures. Over several mission trips we began to develop deep relationships with the hospital team and the dream of these young Bolivian doctors became our shared dream. We will continue this training, until the local team is prepared to independently perform the skills that will bring new treatment options to their beloved patients. A place from which change comes—the promise of something new and life-giving. And what about Mirko? While he feared he was out of options, his doctor knew of our sister organization Puente de Solidaridad and referred him to them. In our training model, local hospitals select cases for our trips that allow US physicians to work side-by-side with their South American colleagues. Together, they provide surgeries for patients who couldn’t otherwise access them, while helping advance the skills of the local teams. Mirko’s case was a good fit! He received surgery through one of our missions and went home several days later. A year later, one of our teams returned and had the chance to visit Mirko in his home. He and his younger brother came out to greet us and he looked wonderful - healthy and full of life! We were invited into their house where the table was overflowing with cakes and drinks. The brothers recounted stories of the past year’s journey to restored health, and we facetimed with their mom, who had returned to her work and life in Chile. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room. A place from which change comes—the promise of something new and life-giving. Kate Bowler says, in today’s Gospel “Jesus shows us the way to endure the wilderness. But Jesus does not do this alone.” Luke writes, “Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert.” The Spirit is with Jesus both before he enters and throughout his days in the desert. Jesus was not alone and neither are we. This year, Solidarity Bridge is again the Lenten cause at St. John XXIII. Through this Lenten program, we -- together-- get to be a living sign to our patients and partners that they are not alone in the wilderness. Please pray for our patients and partners this Lent. Prayer cards (hold up), are available at all of the doors. A 2nd collection will be taken today and giving envelopes are also at the doors. We thank you for your generous almsgiving today, or throughout Lent. I, as a missioner, have felt the support of this parish community each time I prepare for trip. I assure you, that our patients and partners know it as well, and will continue to know that you are there with them and the teams that do this vital work. We can't avoid the harsh and rugged wilderness. We can't always prevent the people we love or those in our communities from experiencing it. This Lent, as we sit together in that wilderness, we are challenged to remain rooted in our conviction that God meets us here and we are never alone. May this place, indeed, be the promise of something new and life-giving for all of us. Amen. Read more about Mirko's story in this blog, and more about the cancer hospital in Sucre here. As of March 1, 2025, we here in the second vicariate of the Archdiocese of Chicago have a new auxiliary bishop! John S. Siemianowski was ordained as a bishop by Cardinal Cupich at the Holy Name Cathedral on February 26. At the end of the liturgy, Bishop Siemianowski received his assignment to lead Vicariate II.
Bishop Siemianowski, 64, was ordained in 1989. He served as associate pastor of St. Francis de Sales, Lake Zurich; St. Mary, Buffalo Grove; and St. Elizabeth Seton, Orland Hills. He later served as pastor of St. Agnes, St. Paul, and St. Kieran parishes in Chicago Heights. In 2021, he was named pastor of St. Juliana Parish, where he continues to serve. We would also like to congratulate our former Vicar General, Robert Casey, on his recent appointment as the Archbishop of Cincinnati. Lord, we pray for Bishop Siemianowski and Archbishop Casey as they enter their new roles in your service! Our Lent webpage will be up and running soon! In the meantime, here is the schedule for our 2025 Ash Wednesday Masses with Distribution of Ashes:
Wednesday, March 5, 2025 St. Mary Church - 8 a.m. (English) | 12 p.m. (English) | 7 p.m. (English) St. Nicholas Church - 8:15 a.m. (English) | 5 p.m. (Bilingual) | 7 p.m. (Spanish) Click here to see the presider schedule for these Masses (and the whole month of March). And click here to learn more about and sign up for this year's Lenten Small Groups! Happy almost-Lent!
For several months now, some of our parishioners have been receiving fraudulent emails or even texts from someone claiming to be Fr. Jean-Philippe.
FR. JEAN-PHILIPPE WILL NEVER ASK YOU FOR MONEY OR GIFT CARDS. If you have questions about a message you received CALL THE PARISH OFFICE BEFORE TAKING ANY ACTION. If the office is closed, that's okay! No request will ever be so urgent that it can't wait until business hours. In the email variation of this scam (the most recent version as of February 21, 2025) the sender's name appears in recipients' inboxes as things like "Rev. Jean-Philippe Lokpo," "Rev. Koudjo K. Lokpo," or "Koudjo K. Jean-Philippe Lokpo," among other variations. The sender's email address is most often an "@gmail.com" address that includes some variation of "reverend" or "church" and a string of numbers. The latest one came from "Rev. Koudjo K. Jean Philippe Lokpo" at "[email protected]." Please note that Fr. Jean-Philippe will ONLY ever email you from his official Archdiocese of Chicago account, [email protected]. His name will appear in your inbox as "Koudjo K. Lokpo" -- no "Rev.," "Father," or "Jean-Philippe" unless you personally saved his email to your contacts using a name that includes those words. We have not heard of the scammers using Fr. Jose's name yet, but you should treat any email that claims to be from him but does not use his [email protected] email address as fraudulent, too. Last October, this scam popped up in texts sent from various numbers (primarily 201.354.7251) claiming to be "Rev. Koudjo K. Jean-Philippe Lokpo" and asking parishioners to "return my text" because "I have a favor to ask." Unlike many scam messages, these DO include the recipient's name (e.g., "Hi, Bob please return my text when you get it, I have a favor to ask. God Bless, Rev. Koudjo K. Jean-Philippe Lokpo".) If you do not have Fr. Jean-Philippe's number saved in your contacts, he will not be texting you. If you do have him listed as a contact and you receive a text from another number claiming to be him, IT IS NOT FROM HIM. If you do not regularly text with him and he needs to reach you, he will call you, most likely from one of our parish phones, meaning it will appear as either 847.864.1185 or 847.864.0333. If the sender insists that you shouldn't call him for any reason ("I'm going into meeting," "I have to give a Mass," "I'm really busy," "I'm with a parishioner," "I can't talk right now"), be EXTREMELY skeptical. Please see "Tips to Spot This Scam" below for more information on what to look for in a suspicious message. (Basically, Fr. Jean-Philippe will NEVER ask you for money or gift cards or anything of the sort over text or email. Also, no real request of his will be so time-sensitive that you can't wait to talk with him on the phone.) If you receive a scam message, take a picture of it and delete it either by clicking "Report" and reporting it as a phishing scam (after which the message will automatically be deleted) or by simply deleting the message. You can report the fraudulent message to the Federal Trade Commission in English at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov or in Spanish at https://reportefraude.ftc.gov. Additionally, you can email the Archdiocese of Chicago at [email protected] to help keep them aware of the situation. More information about this scam at our parish and similar ones across the country can be found after the tips. Tips to Spot This Scam:
Generally, experts warn people to be wary of unsolicited email appeals for financial donations, to treat email attachments with caution, and to be careful about clicking on links in email messages. They say that if you click on a wrong link or realize that you have provided a password, username, or other personal information in response to a scam, you need to change your password immediately and alert the business's, bank's, or organization's IT department of the breach. For more general (but still very helpful!) information on how to spot and avoid scam emails, texts, and phone calls, check out the FTC's How to Avoid a Scam. About This Scam The messages usually begin with a simple greeting like, "Hi" or "Good morning," but often without the recipient's name. They typically ask for a quick response, often give some reason that the "priest" can't answer phone calls right now, and may include requests for to "do me a favor" or to provide help of some kind for a worthy cause, be that purchasing gift cards or wiring money to help the priest himself, a needy parishioner or family, or for gifts for the parish staff. Many times, the specific request to send money or buy gift cards won't come until after the recipient replies to the first email or even the first few emails. The sender may even promise that he (the "priest") or the parish will pay the recipient back for the cost of any gift cards. We are not alone in this -- parishes around the country have been targeted with similar scams since at least 2018. In some dioceses, scammers have even impersonated bishops! In a 2020 interview with the Catholic Standard, Fr. Daniel Carson, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Washington, described the scheme: "Father Carson said these kinds of email scams, where people impersonate the pastor or a Church leader occur periodically, and typically involve the scammer sending an email posing as the priest and saying they need help and asking that person to respond back. If the person responds to the bogus email, that sender might ask them to do something like purchase gift cards and send them the number [on the back of the card]. [The appeals are sometimes also for cash donations or money transfers.] The language in such bogus email appeals constantly changes, but the sender often uses a phony Gmail or Yahoo account with the priest’s name incorporated in it." If you want to see what the full scam can look like in action, read this report based on messages received by an employee of the Archdiocese of Lincoln, Nebraska. Unfortunately, neither we here at St. John XXIII nor the folks at the Archdiocese can do anything to stop fraudulent text messages or emails that come from outside of the "@archchicago.org" domain, like these scam emails sent from "@gmail.com" or "@yahoo.com" addresses. Once again, if you receive a scam message, take a picture of it and delete it either by clicking "Report" and reporting it as a phishing scam (after which the message will automatically be deleted) or by simply deleting the message. You can report the fraudulent message to the Federal Trade Commission in English at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov or in Spanish at https://reportefraude.ftc.gov. Additionally, you can email the parish at [email protected] and the Archdiocese of Chicago at [email protected] to help keep us aware of the situation. |
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