Have you experienced loss during these difficult times?  The grieving process has been made even more stressful when we cannot gather to say goodbye to or celebrate the lives of our deceased loved ones, making us even more alone. Online grief groups offered by the archdiocese are a place of comfort within our faith tradition. The online grief group facilitators are not counselors and do not give advice, but they will be present to listen and guide you in prayer and reflection. Groups for adults 18 and over are available on Zoom in English, Spanish and Polish. Visit the Archdiocese Online Grief Groups web page for more information

The Archdiocese of Chicago has developed a multi-phased plan for reopening churches and resuming public participation in the sacramental life of the local Church. An Executive Summary and the full plan are available on the archdiocesan website. The plan envisions a set of required measures and phases to prudently and gradually resume use of our church buildings.

• Each parish needs to recruit non-vulnerable volunteers at the parish level to help the Pastor in implementation. Please contact the parish office if you are under 60, in good health, and would like to volunteer. This group has been hard at work and is meeting regularly to implement plans to reopen Queen of Angels.
• Training and guidance for volunteers involves multiple documents and a webinar. The documents have been evolving over the past few weeks and are guiding how we adapt the re-opening plan to the space of our church and the rituals of our sacraments and liturgies.
• A required certification of readiness to reopen will be required at each phase. Each parish is to complete an implementation template confirming completion of all action steps and showing that there are sufficient trained volunteers to execute it. We hope that our parish will be ready to apply for Phase I the week of June 16, 2020!
• Phase I allows for Baptisms, Reconciliation, Weddings and Funerals with a firm limit of 10 attendees.
• The optional Phase IA allows for private prayer and Adoration with a firm limit of 10 attendees.
• Phase II allows for reopening for weekday and weekend Masses, starting with a limit of 10 attendees.

There will be a review of the plan at each stage to make improvements. This is a slow process, but the guidelines and required measures are designed to protect the health of our whole community and help parishioners feel safe.

The Mary Windows Stations are used as inspiration and focus for meditative prayer, similar to praying the Stations of the Cross. are now converted into a series of videos that are part prayer, part tour, and will take you reverently through the windows’ stories and symbols from the life of our patroness the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Angels. There are 12 short videos, one for each of the 6 large windows along each side of the church.