Beverly Stewart had the best seat in the house at the first archdiocesan Festival of Faith on Nov. 1, 2003. Stewart, an Augustus Tolton Scholar at Catholic Theological Union and a parishioner at St. Thaddeus, sat just in front of the main exhibition hall at Navy Pier, passing out bags for handouts and offering directions. “I see everybody,” said Stewart, one of the multitude of volunteers who welcomed nearly 19,000 people to the first-ever Catholic Festival of Faith Oct. 30-Nov. 2, 2003. “The fellowship is so nice. It’s just good to have the fellowship.” Two more festivals of faith followed, in 2006 and 2009. Both were held at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont. Organizers of the first Festival of Faith wanted to put the best face of the Catholic Church on display during the event — both for Catholics who too often only see others who look like themselves or work on the same issues, and for the whole Chicago metropolitan area. The face on display was black, white, Latino, Native American and Asian. Liturgies and prayers were conducted in a multitude of languages, and presenters offered more than 200 sessions on everything from encouraging teens to chastity to coping with mental illness to finding Christ in the movies. The face on display was happy, said Vincentian Father Joseph C. Geders, then-director of the Department of Evangelization, Catechesis and Worship for the archdiocese. “I remember seeing happy people,” said Geders, the event’s main coordinator, on Nov. 3, 2003. “People were happy to be there. And I saw a little bit of everybody — not only the Tier I Catholics, who are already very involved, but also Tier II and III Catholics who might be a little more on the fringe.” Altogether, an estimated 17,200 people were registered over the four days, Geders said. At Youth Day Oct. 30, 2003, high school students reclined on the floor of the Grand Ballroom and listened to Cardinal George’s homily. Three days later, more than 2,000 people clapped and swayed to Gospel music during the recessional of the closing Mass. In between, there were speakers, breakout sessions, techno-rock, mariachi and classical music. Chicago personality Wayne Messmer performed a one-man play about Blessed Damien of Molokai, and those who attended could hear Cardinal George talk about “God’s Forgiveness Made Visible: The Sacrament of Penance” in a workshop and then go to confession in the eucharistic adoration chapel, The cardinal also attended a breakfast for more than 600 parish leaders in the pier’s Grand Ballroom hosted by the archdiocesan Office for Councils. In between, they could stop in the exhibition hall and order a Monastery casket or buy a child’s first Bible as a baptism or First Communion gift. Contributing: Jennifer Sladek This article was originally published Nov. 9, 2003. It has been edited and updated.
175th anniversary: Meet the archdiocese’s oldest living priest Father George McKenna was born less than a year after the end of World War I. He was ordained a priest a month before D-Day. He had been, officially, retired for 13 years when 9/11 happened, but he was still the volunteer chaplain at Midway International Airport.
175th anniversary: St. Stanislaus Kostka: Once one of the largest parishes in nation Founded in 1867 as the first Polish parish in Chicago, the Resurrectionists have administered St. Stanislaus Kostka since 1869, and founded many other North Side Polish parishes from St. Stanislaus such as St. John Cantius and Holy Trinity Mission. At the end of the 19th century it was one of the largest parishes in the city and country.
175th anniversary: St. Frances Cabrini: a saint for Chicago, America Even though St. Frances Cabrini was a native of Italy, the Archdiocese of Chicago will forever consider her one of its own because she ministered here and died here in 1917.