Parishes mourn death of a beloved leader in Christ

A few hours after Cardinal George’s death was announced, a prayer service was quickly arranged at his boyhood parish of St. Pascal Church in the Portage Park neighborhood. The prayer service had been in the works, but his death still caught leaders of the church at 3935 N. Melvina Ave. off guard.

“We all knew that he was sick, we knew that he will die one day, but this day for each one us came suddenly,” said Rafal Stecz.

About 75 people turned out to remember the boy who attended church and school there, who was ordained as a priest there, and who returned years later as an archbishop and then a cardinal.

Although Marie Conway of Immaculate Conception Parish on Talcott Avenue never personally met Cardinal George, she said he served as a father figure to Chicago Catholics.

“I loved him very much. We’ll miss him,” she said. “You feel like you’ve lost a relative, sort of, you know.”

Agnes Mahoney has been a parishioner at St. Pascal’s for 42 years but met Cardinal George when the pastor of St. Eugene Church at 7958 W. Foster Ave. invited the cardinal for dinner.

Years later, she ran into Cardinal George and asked if he remembered her. She was surprised — and a bit embarrassed — at his correct recollection.

“He said, ‘I sat in the kitchen and you gave me a Coke,’” she said.

One night after Cardinal George died, April 18, Polish Catholics gathered at Holy Trinity Polish Mission, 1118 N Noble St. It was supposed to be a parish dance, but it turned out to be a night of celebrating the life of beloved Cardinal George.

“Nobody would have danced, we wanted to pray for this man that was greatly loved by the Poles in Chicago,” said Father Andrew Maslejak, the director of Holy Trinity Polish Mission.

The evening was spontaneously organized on the day after cardinal’s passing with the help of the Archdiocese’s Office of New Evangelization and included: Mass; a witness talk by Polish Albertine Sister Noemi Gil, who for the last three years worked at the archbishop’s residence on North State Parkway; a video presentation about the cardinal; reflections on his life; and a reception.

“When I think about him I want to quote from the Book of Psalms and call him ‘a warrior,’” said Father Robert Bedzinski, associate pastor of Holy Trinity, in his homily. It takes a warrior for God to fulfill the responsibility of the local shepherd in the manner the cardinal did. Only a warrior for God can face as much suffering as he recently did, and only a warrior can fight for the church as much as he did, continued Bedzinski.

The church was lit by candles and a portrait of Cardinal George was placed on the altar next to the statue of the resurrected Jesus. The Mass concluded with memories that Gil shared about Cardinal George.

“‘Welcome home, Sister,’ said the cardinal, when I first crossed the threshold of his residence, and I immediately felt at home,” Gil said.

She remembers the cardinal for his humbleness and appreciativeness.

“He liked to step into the kitchen for a glass of milk and was always grateful for everything the sisters did,” she said.

Following the cardinal’s request, the Albertine sisters prayed the Divine Mercy Chaplet every day for the archdiocese’s priests.

“Every morning during the Mass at the residence he prayed for the needs of the holy church. Most recently he prayed a lot for the persecuted Christians in the Middle East,” Gil said.

Holy Trinity has been one of the key churches of Polish pastoral work in Chicago and Cardinal George went there on numerous occasions.

“He came here to pray with us for the victims of the presidential plane crash,” said Maslejak, referring to the first anniversary of 2010 tragedy that killed the president of Poland, Lech Kaczynski, and 95 members of his presidential entourage on a visit to Katyn near Smolensk, Russia.

“He understood our pain,” said Maslejak.

The cardinal’s death didn’t surprise Maslejak. He said, “We knew that he was seriously ill, and when I learned about his death, it felt like if we lost a great man.”

Like most of the Polish Catholics in Chicago, Maslejak believes that the cardinal was a great friend of Polish people.

“Thanks to him, St. Hyacinth Parish was elevated to the basilica, he organized and supported the Bishop Abramowicz Seminary, named many of the Polish priests pastors. The cardinal had great love for St. John Paul II and respected Polish heritage,” said Maslejak.

Mirka Radzik, whose son studied at the Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary and served as a sacristan at Holy Name Cathedral, participated at the Holy Trinity Mass in spite of her sick husband at home. She called the cardinal “the man of truth.” Remembering her son’s stories, she said the cardinal had a good sense of humor and always talked with everybody.

“Personally, I will remember him being drawn to prayers,” said Radzik. She believes that the cardinal’s legacy will be alive for a long time. “He will be a good example for our priests,” said Radzik.

“When I found out he died, I went to a chapel and prayed. I’m lucky to work in a building with a chapel. I was very said,” said Marzena Guertson. She will remember the cardinal as a man always ready to listen to someone’s needs. “I’m thankful to the cardinal specially for helping me out with the tuition for my son’s Catholic school,” said Guertson.

Albertine Sister Domityla Pekala was present at the cardinal’s death bed. She said:”All I could think about when he passed was that we have a saint in heaven.”

Students from St. Gerald School in Oak Lawn gathered in church with parishioners April 20 to remember and pray for Cardinal George, only a few weeks after the school’s sixth-graders presented a play about his life.

At the Mass, the sixth-graders served at the altar, read and brought up the gifts. Principal Al Theis said he thought they deserved that distinction after learning about the cardinal.

The students said they knew little about Cardinal George before doing the play. But the script — written by Theis — impressed several key moments on them. After the Mass, they spoke of his perseverance after contracting polio as a child and cancer as an adult, and about his determination to become a priest despite discouragement from the archdiocese because of his polio.

“Don’t give up on yourself,” Ashley Barrera said she learned. “Even if you get sick, keep trying.”

Father Lawrence Malcolm, pastor of St. Gerald, emphasized that point in his homily.

“When he was in eighth grade, he loved to ride his bike, he loved to play ball,” Malcolm said. “But he came down with polio, and he could never ride a bike or play a ball game again.”

He also was told he couldn’t attend Quigley Preparatory Seminary in Chicago.

“If he had stayed in Chicago and become a priest here, he probably never would have become a cardinal,” Malcolm said. “So don’t be upset if something bad happens to you, because something good can happen to you, too.”

The sixth-graders said they learned about Cardinal George mostly from the script of the 10-minute play. When the play was taped and put on YouTube by the archdiocesan Radio and TV Office, the students signed a copy of the script for the cardinal, but they don’t know if he got it before he died.

One student, Tyler Dale, said the play inspired him to find out more about Cardinal George.

“I went online to find out more about his life,” he said. “After he became important and famous, he came back.”

Heather Jackson said she learned that it’s important to be kind to others, no matter how important of a job you have.