About Our Parish
Would you like to become a member? Click Here to register for the Parish.
Our Mission Statement
The Church of St. Mary is a Catholic community centered on Jesus Christ present in the celebration of the Eucharist. We are guided by the Holy Spirit and the apostolic teaching of the universal Catholic Church. We are committed to lifelong Catholic formation for every parishioner including a parish school and religious education for all young people. We worship and glorify God through prayer, Scripture, participation in the sacraments, devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, active charity and justice, and the advancement of the common good.
[back to top]
Our Parish Staff
Fr. Michael McGovern - Pastor
Father Mike McGovern has been St. Mary's pastor since December 2004. A native of the South Side of Chicago, he attended Christ the King Grammar School, St. Ignatius College Prep and Loyola University. Ordained in 1994 after studies at Mundelein Seminary, Father Mike has worked in parish ministry as well as the Pastoral Center for the Archdiocese of Chicago. With interests in theology, spirituality, history and art, Father Mike is looking forward to creating new programs for spiritual growth at St. Mary's.
mmcgovern@churchofstmary.org.
Fr. Don Woznicki - Associate Pastor
Father Don Woznicki has been Associate Pastor since January 2008. He was born and raised in South Bend, Indiana and was ordained to the priesthood on May 18, 2002. Fr. Don has felt the great need for the Catholic Church to be more present within the entertainment industry due to its impact in our lives. In addition to parish ministry, he is a part-time Chaplain to Act One, Inc: Writing and Executive Programs (Hollywood, CA). He is project leader for The Hollywood Project: bringing the Church and the entertainment industry together.
dwoznicki@churchofstmary.org.
Fr. Stephen Grunow - In Residence
Father Stephen Grunow is a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago. He is currently a resident at St. Mary's and serves as the assistant director of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries, a Catholic evangelization apostolate that utilizes contemporary media to advance and support the mission of the Church.
Deacon Richard Hudzik
Deacon Richard Hudzik was assigned to St. Mary's Parish in July, 2010, having transferred from a diaconal assignment in Schiller Park. Richard is husband of thirty-five years to Rebecca and father and grandfather to three. He has been director of the Archdiocese's Cardinal Stritch Retreat House for five years, after practicing law for almost thirty years in DuPage and Cook Counties. He was ordained in 1998 and has been awarded the Master of Divinity and Master of Arts in Pastoral Theology degrees. He is now a candidate for the Doctor of Ministry degree from University of St. Mary of the Lake, with a concentration in theological reflection. His pastoral intersts include marriage and family, cultural influences on faith and the theology of work. He can be reached at rhudzik@archchicago.org or at Stritch.
Deacon James L. Kenney
Like hundreds of other parish members, Jim is a part-time volunteer at St. Mary's. He headed the finance committee and parish council, he has served as a lector and minister of Holy Communion, and he was one of the first ministers to the sick. He was ordained a permanent deacon in 1978 for St. Mary's Church. Currently, Jim moderates the single parents' support group, serves as a field advocate for the Marriage Tribunal and conducts Holy Communion services at the Lake County jail and the Great Lakes Recruit Training Center. He recently retired after a long career as a school business official and when not jogging, he markets an investment fund to Illinois school districts and community colleges.
Deacon Joseph G. Krakora
Permanent Deacon Mr. Joseph G. Krakora has been a parishioner at St. Mary's since 1965. He was a member of the first group to be ordained deacons in 1978 and has served St. Mary's ever since. Joe has faculties to baptize, witness marriages, preach, assist at Mass and bring Holy Eucharist to those who cannot attend Mass and sacramentals. In addition to these ministries, Joe assists in the preparation for Baptism and Marriage and also works for the Marriage Tribunal, Archdiocese of Chicago, as a Field advocate for those seeking annulments.
Samuel Suter
Samuel Suter, Director of Music for St. Mary's Parish began his role as music minister in 1977. He has been involved in many aspects of music ministry over the years: he designed St. Mary's pipe organ and conducted organist seminars in both the Hartford and Chicago archdioceses and he was one of the organists for WGN's liturgical programming. Currently Samuel conducts our Adult Choir as well as the Lazarus Choir, and oversees the music for all of St. Mary's parish and school liturgies. He is the organist for the majority of the weddings, funerals and special liturgical celebrations in the parish.
Ellen Young
Bio coming soon
eyoung@churchofstmary.org
Janet Peters
Janet joined the St. Mary's staff in March, 2007 as a Pastoral Minister. Janet, her husband Randy, and their children Justin and Molly, live in Lake Bluff and have been parishioners of St. Mary's since 1986. Janet coordinates Ministry of Care, Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist and the Bereavement Ministry. Janet is also a liaison to the Guild of St. Mary and assists Fr. Mike McGovern with special projects. Janet is an active Homebound Minister of Care, an Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist, and a member of the Respect Life Committee. Throughout the years she has been actively involved in the following: Soup Kitchen, Religious Education, RCIA, COR, Upper Grade School Committee, Guild Circles and Deanery 1 Pro-Life Holy Hours. Janet is available at the parish office Tuesday through Friday from 8:30am. – 4:30pm. Please feel free to contact her at (847) 234-0205 or via e-mail at jpeters@churchofstmary.org.
Lillie Romeiser
Lillie Romeiser assumed the role of youth minister in mid-February 2009. She was born in lake Forest and was baptized at St. Mary's. Lillie is a graduate of the School of St. Mary, Lake Forest High School and Princeton University, where she majored in religion and received a teaching certificate in Elementary Education. She played basketball while at Princeton and has since taken up running and triathlon racing. As the Youth Minister, Lillie is responsible for the direction of the COR and Kairos programs, as well as for all activities that support high school students. We are happy to have Lillie at St. Mary's! You can contact Lillie at (847) 234-7337 or via email at lromeiser@churchofstmary.org
Andy Duran
Andy Duran, our Director of Evangelization, first came to St. Mary's as the Youth Minister in September 2001. A native of Florida, Andy received his B.A. in Theology from Saint Leo University, and is currently working towards a Dual Master's Degree in Social Work (MSW) and Divinity (M.Div.) from Loyola University of Chicago. Immediately prior to his current role, Andy served as the Director of the Ministry for Persons with Disabilities of the Diocese of St. Augustine in Florida. In his free time, Andy likes to hang out at home with his wife Lisa and their daughter, Emma Grace (born 10/16/09). You can contact Andy at (847) 615-8789 or via email at aduran@churchofstmary.org.
[back to top]
About Our Church
 The present Church of St. Mary in Lake Forest was dedicated by James Quigley on December 11, 1910. At that time, a newborn baby boy was baptized and called Barry after the pastor, the Reverend Francis J. Barry.
Prior to that time, St. Mary's had been a mission of a little log church built in the western area of Lake Forest in 1844. By 1875, a group of thirty families from Lake  Forest and Lake Bluff formed the new parish of St. Mary's. In 1908, their little white frame church at Illinois and Green Bay Roads was pronounced in danger of collapse, even after the steeple was removed and the walls braced from the outside.
The parish grew, adding buildings with the times. The original rectory was built in 1876. The old school, which now houses our Junior High Grades and the Science, Music and Art Labs, was dedicated on September 23, 1917. The present school and gym were opened September 7, 1958. The convent, opened on March 19, 1950, is now the Parish Center and contains a chapel, ministry offices and meeting rooms of various sizes.
Families continued to move into Lake Forest. Many homes had been built by 1929. In the early 1930's - the Great Depression era - some families doubled up but few moved from the area. After World War II, in the late 1940's, many families moved into the region. But it was the "building boom" of the 1950's and 60's that attracted large numbers to the area, among them families with young children who enrolled in St. Mary's School.
This history was told by the little fellow baptized here in 1910 - Barry Fitzgerald. He has been a lifelong parishioner and states that the last fifteen to twenty years have been the very best of all his years in St. Mary's parish.
[back to top]
Did You Know...
Our church building is open everyday from 6:30 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. So, please feel free to visit our church on your own time. You can come to pray, look at our windows, or simply be present with the Blessed Sacrament. For more information about our church building, please contact our parish office at (847) 234-0205.
[back to top] |
