Assumption's Leadership Group has produced a series of ten-minute videos about various aspects of prayer. One or more of them might help jumpstart your prayer life.

Note: These videos are not sequential and can be viewed in any order. Start with whichever one strikes you the most!

Try a Spiritual Temperaments Quiz 

The word "Eucharist" means "Thanksgiving". We give thanks to God every time we attend Mass, but "Eucharist" should mean something special to all of us on Thanksgiving Day. Why not begin your family celebration of Thanksgiving with Eucharist?

Mass will be celebrated on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday November 23, at 7:30 and 10:30am. The 10:30 Mass will have organ and cantor. Parking in 311 will be open for the 10:30 Mass. A collection will be taken up for Assumption Shares, the food coupons we offer the needy.

On November 3, we celebrated the Rite of Welcome with the twelve adults who are part of this year’s OCIA process. They have been meeting on Sunday mornings for the past two months, and in this ceremony they formally expressed their desire to be baptized and/or be received into full membership in the Catholic Church. They ask for your prayers and support on their
faith journey.

Our next preparation session for parents (and, if possible, godparents) of infants to be baptized is Monday, January 13, at the Rectory. Sessions are from 7:00 to 8:15pm.  These sessions are for first time parents and for parents who have never before attended a preparation session. Call the Parish Office to register. It is not necessary to wait for the baby to be born to attend a preparation session. Baptisms normally take place on the second and fourth Sundays of the month at 1:15pm and on the first weekend of the month during Mass. More here

Assumption Young Adults will gather for wine and cheese following the 5:00pm Mass on Sunday October 20. For more information, email assumptionaya@gmail.com. AYA is for anyone in their twenties or thirties, single, coupled, or married.

Our annual blessing of runners participating in the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 13 will take place during the 5:00pm Mass on Saturday, October 12. Runners and their family, friends, and fan club are our special guests that day.

The Assumption team continues to support the family who immigrated from Mexico to obtain treatment for their son's leukemia. This support includes subsidies for rent, transportation services, and more. Click for the updated story. 

There is still time to join! Alpha is for everyone. If you are a life-long Catholic, Alpha affords you the opportunity to develop a more personal connection with Christ and a greater ability to share your faith with others. If you are not a churchgoer, or go only occasionally, or if you are asking yourself the big questions in life, Alpha allows you to ask your questions, express your doubts, and share your grievances in a non-judgmental atmosphere. Bring a friend! We start with dinner, then a movie, and end with great conversation. For more information or to register, email alpha@assumption-chgo.org

  If you are over 18 and have never been baptized, maybe you should be part of this year's OCIA process. If you were baptized in another Christian faith and are considering becoming Catholic, maybe you should be part of this year's OCIA process. If you were baptized Catholic and never made First Communion and Confirmation, maybe you should be part of this year's OCIA process. OCIA (formerly RCIA) stands for Order of Christian Initiation for Adults. It is a group experience that begins in September and will continue until next May. For more information, contact Fr. Joe.  

Click on the photo for a better view of last year's group!

It was 138 years ago that The Assumption Parish celebrated the first Mass in this building. This celebration recognized that event, linked with the Feast of The Assumption, on Sunday, August 18. The inaugural stone is shown below;
click to see the rest of the celebration.

And click here to see a short video re-cap!

The dignity of workers has long been a concern of the Catholic Church. Why not come and pray for justice for all who labor? Mass on Labor Day, Monday September 2, will be at 7:30 and 10:30am.

Friday August 23 is the Feast of St. Philip Benizi, a fourteenth century Servite Friar held in such high esteem that he was considered a leading candidate for Pope. Once when a town was experiencing famine, Philip prayed for relief and bread miraculously appeared. Since that time, it has been a Servite custom to bless bread on the Feast of St. Philip. Our Servite Secular Order is providing bread that we will bless and distribute at the 7:00 and 12:10 Masses on August 23.

Assumption is celebrating our 143rd anniversary as a parish and the 138th anniversary of the First Mass offered in the present church. We are celebrating the Feast of the Assumption into the weekend!

To celebrate our anniversary, we are having a picnic following the 12:15pm Mass on Sunday August 18. Enjoy real Chicago Style Hot Dogs for $2 each, with chips, cookies, and beverage. Test your skills at picnic games in our beautiful garden. Guided tours of Assumption Church will be offered at 1:45pm and 2:00pm. All are welcome! Surviving for 143 years is no small feat. Come and celebrate!

Thursday, August 15, is the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, a holy day of obligation and our parish feast day. Our present church building was dedicated August 15, 1886.

The Dogma of the Assumption holds that at the end of her earthly life, Mary was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory. Mass will be celebrated at 7:00am, 12:10pm, and 6:00pm on August 15.

Parking at 311 will be available for the 12:10pm and 6:00pm Masses.

The Servite Secular Order at Assumption is conducting a toiletries drive for a men's and a women's shelter. Please place your donation in the box near the Vatican flag. The collection runs through August 11.

Our annual blessing of the parish garden was on Sunday June 30.  It was a beautiful day to gather outside in the June breeze. After the blessing, refreshments and friendship were served! 

Click here or on the photo for a video re-cap. 

Our “adopted” family, having travelled to Chicago from Mexico last summer, has moved into a home in McKinley Park whose rent is being paid by our generous parishioners.

Four year old Emiliano has received a bone marrow transplant from his 6 year old brother and continues to be treated for his leukemia at Lurie Children’s Hospital. Members of our group are driving Emiliano and his mother to the medical appointments once or twice a week. They are so grateful for our help.
More drivers are needed if anyone has time to help.

Babysitters are also needed at various times if anyone is interested.
We are asking for donations to continue so we can help with food and transportation costs and babysitting if we can’t get enough volunteers.

This family of a mom and six children ages 2 to 12 are adapting to life in Chicago with the help of many volunteers. We hope to bring them on a few outings this summer and welcome everyone’s participation.

On Saturday, May 18, members of the Archdiocese’s Laudato Si’ Action Platform Team met at Assumption to engage in dialogue about the church’s calling for all people to care for our common home.
As part of this event, the team planted a bush in the Assumption Garden. Say hello to our newest plant, Henry’s Garnet (Sweetspire), which was chosen based upon the fact that this pollinator is native to the area, sports white flowers in the summer, and blazes fall colors later in the year. It will make a perfect addition to our garden  (Click "More info" above for more photos).

Assumption will be providing the evening meal for Chicago Help Initiative at the Catholic Charities building, LaSalle and Huron, on Wednesday June 26.   Would you . . . or a group of you or your family or friends… like to help serve the meal? Email
roz@chicagohelpinitiative.org and indicate that you are from Assumption. Volunteers are asked to be at Catholic Charities from 3:30pm to 5:30pm.

Join the fun! Become one of our Assumption garden helpers for the summer. No green thumb necessary. If you can water a plant, you're in! It's a great way to enjoy the outdoors.

Contact jeannesowa@comcast.net for more information.

The Servite Secular Order at Assumption is conducting a toiletries drive to aid the residents of a men's and a women's shelter in Chicago. Your donations may be left in the silver box in the front of Church. The drive ends August 11.

On Saturday, April 13, Assumption welcomed sixteen couples for a special Mass, renewal of wedding vows, and a bountiful brunch. Nine of the couples attended a morning session for couples married less than five years, led by Fr. John Fontana.

Saturday, May 4, is the Feast of St. Peregrine, a fourteenth century Servite Friar, who was miraculously healed of cancer, after spending all night before an image of Christ crucified. He is the patron saint of those living with cancer, and devotions in honor of St. Peregrine take place after the 12:10 Mass on Mondays.

In honor of St. Peregrine, we will offer the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick during the 7:30am Mass on May 4. This Sacrament is for those whose life is at risk because of age or illness.

At the Easter Vigil Mass we celebrated the Baptism of Gloria Corujo and Amanda Rodriguez, and received into full membership with the Catholic Church Elizabeth Hedrick, Conora Shaw, Jorge Vivas, Cindy Plascencia, Axel Leyva-Villegas, and James Garner. Click on the picture for a high quality version.

All of our Elect and Candidates were Confirmed and made their First Holy Communion at this Mass. How about you? Are you not baptized? Baptized Catholic but never made your First Communion and Confirmation? Baptized Christian but would like to know more about the Catholic Church? Contact Fr. Joe for more information.

Italian food returns to the Parish Hall! Join us on Saturday, April 20, following the 5:00pm Mass (or 6:00 to 8:00pm), for a simple meal of lasagna, salad, fresh baked bread, dessert, wine, beer, or soda. Tickets are $50 each, $25 for children under 12. Reservations are required. Purchase tickets on GiveCentral or by calling the Parish Office.

GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!

We thank you for all of your support during our Pew Replacement Project this past January.  Enjoy this 4-minute retrospective of how it all went! 

Click on the picture (or HERE) to watch.

On Wednesday March 20 at 7:00pm, Fr. Joe will offer the final presentation in our Lenten Evenings of Faith series, focusing on the meal Jesus shared with his followers the night before he died. The talk will look at the meaning of ritual meals in the Jewish tradition, what the four Gospels actually say about the Last Supper and how this meal served as the culmination of Jesus' public ministry. In this year of the Eucharistic Revival (and, acccording to surveys, waning belief in "the real presence"), Fr. Joe will offer his perspective on what this meal celebrated in memory of Jesus can mean for us today.

Come to the Parish Hall at 7:00pm Wednesday, March 6. Even better, come for Mass at 6:00 and make a reservation for the meal at 6:30. The 311 garage will be open.

Our RCIA group of Catechumens and Candidates participated in the Rite of Sending on Sunday, February 18 before going to Holy Name Cathedral for the Right of Election. Please keep them in prayer, as they enter these final weeks of preparation before celebrating the Sacraments of Initiation on Holy Saturday night. 

We invite you to participate in a weekly guided study and discussion of the Scriptures assigned for the Sundays of Lent, using materials provided by Renew International. The group will meet in the Rectory on Monday evenings from 6:00 to 7:15pm from Feb 12 - Mar 18. For more information or to sign up email beth.schuman@gmail.com.

Over 30 members enjoyed pizza and comeraderie in a kick-off to a new season. Learn more about this organization and its variety of activities.  Click here for more images and videos!

Back by popular demand, our Lenten Fish Fry will be Friday, February 23 from 5:00 to 7:00pm in the Parish Hall. $25.00 per person (all you can eat); children 5 to 11, $15.00; under 5, free. Meal includes fish, sides, salad, dessert, and drinks. Reservations are requested. To make reservations, go on-line to GiveCentral or call the Parish Office at 312-644-0036. 

Please make your reservations by THURSDAY AT NOON so that we can order appropriately. Thank you!

Click Here to pay online

Welcome Back to Our Beautiful Church

On the Feast of St. Blase, Saturday, February 3, throats will be blessed during the 7:30am Mass. This ritual recalls the Saint's timely rescue of a boy choking on a fish bone.

If you have been wondering what your parish pastoral council has been up to lately, minutes are posted on our website. Click on "getting involved" and then go to "Pastoral Council".

An Advent Calendar has been created to help prepare your hearts and minds for the coming of Christ. The neat thing about our Advent calendar is that it features art as well as words. Some of us are more visual and are moved to prayer and medication by great works of art. Look for it here

On Friday December 8 we celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. We honor Mary, who was privileged to be free from sin from the first moment of her existence. The Immaculate Conception is a holyday of obligation and our national feast day. Mass will be at 7:00am, 12:10pm, and 6:00pm.

 It's a grand Assumption tradition that goes back many decades and celebrates our parish's Italian heritage. The Italian Dinner is Thursday November 9 from 6:00 to 10:00pm at Maggiano's Banquet Center, Clark and Grand. Tickets are $125.00, which includes a five course Italian meal served family style amd wine and beer (There will be a cash bar for those who prefer spirits).
Click for details about many opportunities to win.
To make a reservation, call the Parish Office (312-644-0036) or log on to GiveCentral.