2024 Summer Highlights – June

Summer 2024 is flying by here on Iowa Street! Keep an eye out for blog posts throughout the summer sharing monthly highlights.

June

Arrival of Summer Volunteers

Each summer we are so blessed to have a number of OLA “summer students” come on board to help us serve at the Mission during June and July. The summer volunteers are typically a mix of seminarians and university students, and this year was no exception! We were blessed to welcome 1 seminarian from Chicago, 2 seminarians from Cincinnati, 2 seminarians from Grand Rapids, 2 Syro-Malabar seminarians, and 4 college students (3 from Notre Dame!) over the course of the summer. This year’s summer volunteer tasks included joining us in our regular weekly apostolates serving the poor, painting pipes throughout the Outreach Center, helping in the gardens, and doing an INCREDIBLE job serving as volunteers at the National Eucharistic Congress. What a gift to have these young people with us throughout the summer!

National Eucharistic Pilgrimage Comes Through Chicago

As many of you know, when our Church celebrated Pentecost this past year, the four branches of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage officially kicked off from four corners of our country. The pilgrimage, “staffed” by priests serving as chaplains and a number of young adults committed to serving as Perpetual Pilgrims throughout the entire route, passed through a number of dioceses and Archdioceses as the four routes all made their way to meet in Indianapolis for the beginning of the National Eucharistic Congress on July 16th.

The Archdiocese of Chicago was included as an official stop of the nothern branch of the pilgrimage, the Marian Route, and our community was honored to be heavily involved with both the planning and execution of the pilgrimage during its time in Chicago. Both Bishop Bob and Sr. Alicia served in essential planning roles and the whole community had the chance to host the Perpetual Pilgrims and chaplains in our Retreat Center during their stay in the Archdiocese. The days of the pilgrimage were filled with a number of beautiful Masses, processions, and other events to help foster love for Our Lord in the Eucharist and the Mass and to help build up the local Church. Events attended by Franciscans include: youth Mass and procession at Mundelein Seminary, young adult Mass, procession, and social at St. Alphonsus, Mass and procession at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mass and procession at Bishop Bob’s vicariate Mass, and Mass and Procession on the final day of the pilgrimage at Holy Name Cathedral.

The Mission also served as an official site for the Pilgrimage’s Day of Service, and we welcomed hundreds of new volunteers in to help us throw a Eucharistic Pilgrimage Block Party for our neighbors. The event included food, kids games, Eucharistic-themed kids crafts, and an Evangelization Table where neighbors could receive free Bibles, rosaries, and other religious objects. For the first time ever during a Block Party, we were also able to open up our beautiful church building to have ongoing Eucharistic Adoration for our neighbors to participate in. We had volunteers stationed outside the church to invite neighbors inside and help them to light a candle to offer before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. At the same time, a worship band was playing quiet, meditative music, and a generous friend of the community even ordered beautiful flowers to adorn the altar. Our neighbors were so touched by the beauty of the church and so many stopped in to pray during their time at the Block Party. In fact, the Eucharistic Adoration in the church for volunteers and neighbors alike went so well that it started a new Block Party tradition!