This Christmas, we were once again so blessed to both witness and participate in God’s Divine Providence as He so lovingly and lavishly cared for the needs of the poor. Keep scrolling to see this year’s Christmas highlights!
We hosted our 8th Annual Culinary Kids Christmas Luncheon, sponsored by IL Comptroller Susana Mendoza’s office, for members of our senior citizens program (the first year back in-person since 2019). This event is always a favorite of our seniors and features Christmas music from high school choirs, a 5-star meal prepared by one of Chicago’s top chefs and high school culinary students, gift bags for all the seniors, and a handful of mystery Chicago celebrities who come each year. In the past, we have typically had former Chicago star athletes from the eras our seniors would remember well, but this year our surprise guest was none other than Mr. T! The seniors were delighted by this surprise guest, and many of us were touched by Mr. T’s desire to share about his deep love for the Lord with anyone who would listen. He even pulled out his personal Bible to share with the seniors (and seminarian voulnteers) as he went around greeting all of the tables.
Next, we hosted a beautiful Christmas Prayer Service and luncheon for about 250 neighbors. Many of the guests were neighborhood families our community has known since our earliest years on Iowa Street, and so it was a special joy to be able to gather in-person in the church for Christmas celebrations once again. The event started with a prayer service and Christmas carols in the main church, and then families took turns visiting the beautiful church manger and taking family pictures on their way down to the church basement hall for a festive Christmas lunch. On the way out, families were able to visit with and take a picture with Santa, and each family received the gift of a beautiful new Nativity Set to take with them.
Our next big Christmas event was the highly anticipated “Drive-through Party” – this event, originally a COVID innovation, was so well-loved and appreciated by our neighbors that we decided to make it a tradition. At this event, neighborhood families were able to walk or drive their car right up to the new Outreach Center doors and receive bundles of new Christmas gifts, one bag for each member of the family! Neighbors can then bring the gifts home and wrap them in time to give to their children and loved ones on Christmas. This year we distributed over 10,000 todays to neighborhood children thanks to the generosity of countless parishes and other organizations and thanks to the hundreds of volunteers we had come through the week of the party to help us assemble all the toy bags.
Then we helped to coordinate ANOTHER Christmas party for children and families who were not able to come to our drive-through because they lived too far away. Thanks to our friendship with Chicagoland Toys 4 Tots, we were able to partner with them to offer a Christmas party for families in need at parishes throughout the Vicariate as well as several Protestant congregations. Toys 4 Tots sent a bus to go around the Vicariate to pick up families and bring them to the central party location at Five Holy Martyrs. Once there, the kids were treated to a magic show, interacted with a whole array of Christmas characters, took photos with Santa, received a bag of new toys, were fitted for new Bobbi-Toads shoes, and enjoyed a hot dog lunch from one of Chicago’s most famous stands. All those in attendance had an incredible time!
Finally, our last big Christmas event for our neighbors was the normal Tuesday Pantry, but with some added Christmas cheer! We typically always see an increase in pantry numbers during the months of November and December, and this year was no exception. We served an all-time record high of 464 families, and right up until the very last guest, every family received a beautiful spiral Christmas ham, Christmas cookies, and every child received a gift from Santa.
We are so grateful for all of the volunteers, friends, benefactors, and supporters of the Mission who all came together to make it possible for us to share the joy of Christmas with our neighbors in need. Know of our prayers for all of you as we move into this new year of 2023. God bless you and Merry Christmas!
