The Academy of St. Benedict the African, 6020 S. Laflin St., showed its appreciation for local first responders with its annual barbecue at the school on Aug. 11. Over the years, the school has formed a special relationship with Chicago Police Department’s 7th District and the Chicago Fire Department’s Engine 116. Police officers and firefighters regularly visit the school, which is located in the city’s Englewood neighborhood, to check on them. “District 7 and the Fire Department take such good care of us over here, so we wanted to thank them and we wanted to give back, so that’s how this started,” said Principal Jennifer Farrand. One officer in particular, Mike Cleary, regularly stops by the school to make sure the students get in and out of school safely. Cleary has stopped by the school for about 15 years and has formed a positive relationship with the students and staff. “The kids love him. They just know ‘Officer Cleary’s here. Everything is good,’” Farrand said. Officers also help with dismissal at the end of the day and interact with the students. During the past year, one of the younger students was shot while he was sleeping and police officers came to a liturgy and gave him an award for bravery, she said. “They are just present. They are present in the community. They are present with our kids,” Farrand said. “They really make sure that our kids see them as the helpers that they are.” Deacon LeRoy Gill also ministers at the school and was the volunteer pit master for the barbecue. “We’re so blessed that the District 7 police officers really care genuinely about the kids here,” Gill said. “They stop by, they come in and they talk to the kids. We appreciate it.”
St. Frances of Rome School in Cicero to remain open St. Frances of Rome School in Cicero received welcome news March 6 when the Archdiocese of Chicago announced that the school, which was slated to close in June, would remain open.
Marian’s Sister Mary Jo using newfound fame to talk about God Before she was a sister, Sister Mary Jo Sobieck was an athlete. Sister Mary Jo, 50, started playing softball, basketball and volleyball in elementary school, and she was a three-sport athlete all through high school and her first two years of college. She dropped basketball for her final two years, but stuck with softball and volleyball.
Loss of state Invest in Kids scholarship program forces closure of two Catholic Schools The pastors of St. Frances of Rome School in Cicero and St. Odilo School in Berwyn announced Jan. 18 that both schools will close in June of this year, bringing an end to a combined total of 196 years of Catholic education at their locations.