Discernment Process

St. Ferdinand and St. Ladislaus Parishes engaged in the Renew My Church (RMC) discernment process through the fall of 2020. The Grouping Feedback and Discernment team (GFDT), which was made up of members from each parish community, met to review and discern the future parish structure for the area. Our deepest appreciation goes to the GFDT who prayerfully discerned the parish grouping structure during this challenging time.

Based on their meetings and feedback gathered from the larger parish communities, they submitted feedback to the archdiocese. The Archdiocesan Standards and Recommendations Commission, which includes representatives from across the Archdiocese of Chicago, reviewed the feedback and other information, including financial summaries, capital needs and parish trends.

Cardinal Cupich and Bishop Manz are grateful to Fr. Torba, Fr. Ludwicki and the Grouping Teams who gathered throughout the past few months, and all parishioners who offered feedback through the recent discernment process.

Outcome

In the past few weeks, Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, the archdiocese’s auxiliary bishops, and the archdiocese’s Presbyteral Council met to discuss the Commission’s recommendation. Based upon those discussions and prayerful consideration, Cardinal Cupich made the following decisions regarding the parish structure for St. Ferdinand and St. Ladislaus:

  • The two parishes will remain separate parishes at the current time.
  • The parish structure will be reviewed again in 2024 during the fifth year of the Society of Christ’s six-year contract to lead St. Ladislaus Parish.
  • Ferdinand School will continue to serve as the parish school of St. Ferdinand Parish.

Between now and the formal review in 2024, both communities are called to not only build a culture of evangelization within each parish by building Evangelization Teams, but also build a culture of invitation that is inherent to the meaning of evangelization. Reaching our neighbors first and foremost is where our outreach begins.

Parish Structure Rationale

Each of the current parishes surpasses the RMC benchmarks around Mass attendance and meets its financial obligations. However, concerns were noted through the process about the long-term future of the parishes if stronger outreach to young adults and the local neighborhood does not bear fruit.

With the Society of Christ’s commitment to fulfill their six-year contract at St. Ladislaus, setting a formal review in 2024 will allow a fresh look at what will be needed at that time.

Next Steps

Each parish community will embark upon the next phase of renewal, focusing on strong evangelization to the world around us. The renewal process calls us to become a stronger, more sustainable presence for the future, capable of reaching more people in their work of making disciples of Jesus Christ, building communities with one another and inspiring witness in the world around us.