While churches throughout the Chicago area were encouraged to hold anti-violence marches on Memorial Day weekend, Holy Cross-Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in the city’s Back of the Yards neighborhood had specific reason: to mourn the death of 16- year-old Angel Cano, who was gunned down May 21, 2013. The march took place May 24. Earlier, Father Michael Pfleger of St. Sabina Parish sent a letter to pastors in the Archdiocese of Chicago encouraging them to participate in Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s “Faith In Action” effort, which called on members of churches, synagogues and mosques to be outside their houses of worship from 7 to 9 p.m. on May 23, the Friday evening of Memorial Day weekend. The weekend, the traditional start of summer, was a violent one in Chicago the last two years, Pfleger noted in his letter. At Pfleger’s parish, St. Sabina, hundreds of people gathered for an antiviolence block party. This year, there were no shootings reported in Chicago for a 42-hour stretch, from the evening of May 22 to the afternoon of May 24. But on May 24, Saturday, two people were killed and 10 more were shot in the afternoon and evening.
Memorial Day cemetery Masses to be broadcast online Attending Mass at one of the archdiocese’s cemeteries on Memorial Day is an annual tradition for many Catholics, but this year, because of COVID-19, those Masses will take place online.
Volunteers find ways to give back during the pandemic Since the pandemic hit the United States, a quote from Mister Rogers has been circulating on social media about those who give back in times of trial.
Justice advocates, parish promote census among Hispanics The coronavirus pandemic has slowed a lot of things, but not the census outreach efforts of a group of Chicago-area Catholics.