As most of you know, the Archdiocese of Chicago has been through a massive restructuring program. Over the past five years, 360 parishes have been reduced to 240. The media has covered the closures, the mergers, the last Masses at individual worship sites in exhausting detail. But churches are much more than buildings. They are places where we encounter Christ and discover Christian community. Churches are about people and about people’s memories and about how our ancestors came to America and came to Chicago and began to find their way. As pastor of a church that has stood on the 300 block of West Illinois Street for 138 years, I have heard a lot of stories from people who trace their roots to Assumption and are happy to know that Assumption is still alive and well. We are among the fortunate ones.

As difficult as it has been on many people to see their church home disappear, the restructuring was inevitable. Because of the shifts in Catholic population and declining Mass attendance, 70% of the parishes were running a deficit and required some sort of subsidy from the Archdiocese. There was also over a hundred million dollars in deferred maintenance on Archdiocesan property. After the restructuring, only 30% of parishes need external support. Through the sale of properties, money has been freed up to attend to deferred maintenance. Now is the time to look to the future.

In the coming months you will begin to hear about a new capital campaign in the Archdiocese called Generation to Generation. Its purpose is to put the Archdiocese on sound financial footing for the future. All of us will be challenged to invest in this future. At Assumption we will be asked to generate $775,000 in pledges (125% of our yearly collection), to be paid over a five-year period. Where will the money go? Well, half of it will come back to us. The first goal of Generation to Generation is to strengthen local parishes. We can decide ourselves how best to use the money, with an eye toward the future.

There are also three other objectives of the campaign. The first is to support the spiritual renewal of all parishes, especially those that still require a subsidy. As Renew My Church pushes us from maintenance to mission, this funding will enable these economically challenged parishes to participate fully in the training programs for outreach, evangelization, and formation of lay leaders. The second objective is to support the priests of the Archdiocese. A major concern is the Health and Retirement Fund which is severely underfunded. With more priests moving into retirement than being ordained and health care costs growing tremendously, the drain on this fund far exceeds its funding. So, a big chunk of funds raised will go to replenish this fund and provide for aging priests. A final portion of the campaign funds will go to support parishes in need and provide scholarships for students enrolled in Catholic schools. The Tuition Tax Credit program in Illinois was not renewed, and that has been a big blow to a number of our inner-city schools. These funds would supplement what Big Shoulders offers and what the Annual Catholic Appeal is able to provide.

As Catholics we can sometime get so bogged down in the struggle to stay afloat that we forget about the tremendous gift that we possess and the hunger that so many have for meaning and purpose in life, a hunger that others feed but cannot satisfy. According to a Barma survey, 84% of Americans want to grow spiritually. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of American (Who knew??), 50% of Generation Z (those under 30), suffer from anxiety, which is almost the same percentage of the members of Generation Z who identify as having no religion (“nones”). Even our Surgeon General has alerted us to a serious public health epidemic:  50% of those over 18 suffer from loneliness. While it is true that the COVID pandemic got a lot of people out of the habit of coming to church, it alerted others to the fragility of life and awakened in them a desire for real community and a larger purpose in life. It caused many of us to hit the “pause” button and question whether the things we were going after were the things were worth going after in the long run.  As Jesus said, “I tell you, look up and see the fields ripe for the harvest” (John 4:35).

After the first of the year, Generation to Generation will begin in earnest. I hope that when the ask comes around, you will see this as an opportunity to invest in the future of the Catholic Church. We who have been blessed and nourished by those who came before us surely want as much for those who come after us. And that will require a church that provides for the health and retirement needs of its pastors and one which finds new and creative ways to connect with Generation Z and beyond.

                                                                                         Fr. Joe