Dear friends:

For the past months, the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe has been engaged in the Archdiocesan process of renewing called “Renew My Church.” This process seeks to discern how we can best bring forth the work of evangelization to the center of the Church’s life and ministry. Part of that process requires a team made up of leaders from several parishes that are grouped together to share and discern the movement of the Holy Spirit. This team consults with their parish communities for feedback on the various scenarios for the grouping. An archdiocesan commission reviews the pastoral rationale and makes a recommendation to Cardinal Cupich. This phase concludes when Cardinal Cupich makes his final decisions regarding any structural changes affecting the grouping based on the recommendations and information he has received from each grouping, the presbyteral council, and the archdiocesan commission.

The process is as follows:

  • Grouping Conversations:
    • Grouping leaders discuss the strengths and challenges within each of our faith communities, review the facts about the situation within the grouping’s communities, and discern feedback on the pros and cons of each possible scenario.
    • Feedback and insights are incorporated into a pastoral rationale summary report, which is submitted to the Archdiocesan Renew My Church Commission. The Commission then makes a recommendation to Cardinal Cupich
  • Parish Conversations:
    • Meetings take place between grouping leaders and their respective parishes
    • Parishioners are informed about what is being discussed
    • Parishioners can ask questions about the grouping feedback and discernment team’s progress and process
    • Parishioners provide input to the team that inform the feedback summary report for the commission and Cardinal
  • Decrees:
    • Once a decision has been made, the Cardinal will issue a formal decree to communicate changes to parish configurations.

The Shrine participates with the groupings uniting all the Des Plaines Parishes: SOLG, St. Mary’s, St. Stephen Protomartyr, and St. Zachary. At this juncture, our grouping is recommending that the Shrine should be left as it is and continue its important ministry to parishioners and pilgrims. We will continue to work with the other parishes to find ways to collaborate and strengthen Christ’s mission in his Church.