Parish Pastoral Council

The Church of St. Mary Parish Pastoral Council (PPC) is a group of volunteer parishioners, parish staff, and resident priests, tasked with informing and advising the pastor in all areas of parish life. Our goal is to make St. Mary’s the very best parish it can possibly be.  The PPC does this by observing what happens at the parish, by personally engaging with other parishioners, and by listening closely to their needs and concerns.  Members of the PPC then work with the pastor to address those needs and concerns to improve parish life, both short-term and long-term.   

To meet its objectives, the PPC meets monthly to discuss a wide range of topics affecting parish life, including capital improvements for the parish, Mass and other worship schedules, the School of St. Mary, Religious Education Program, service and outreach efforts, parish celebrations, and ways to improve the spiritual life of St. Mary’s parishioners.

The members of PPC want you to know that we are working to do all we can to make the St. Mary’s experience as joyful, fulfilling, and enriching as possible.  We also want to hear from you.  We invite you to reach out to us individually or collectively through our shared email (parishcouncil@churchofstmary.org) to let us know how we can make St. Mary’s the very best parish it can possibly be. 

PARISH CONSULTATION AT THE CHURCH OF ST. MARY

Cardinal Cupich will be appointing a new pastor to the Church of St. Mary as of July 1, 2026. The process of selecting that priest involves a great deal of prayer, research, discernment and discussion. One of the important groups in this process is the Priest Placement Board (PPB). This group advises Cardinal Cupich on candidates for pastor based on the talents and skills of the priest-candidates in light of the strengths and challenges of the parishes in the pastor pool. The PPB is composed of nine priests of the Archdiocese of Chicago who serve full-time as pastors or associate pastors, one of the members is retired. The work of the PPB is directed by Fr. Michael Knotek, the Vicar for the Professional and Pastoral Development of Priests who does this work full-time along with the ongoing formation for priests.

In order to gain wisdom from parish staff and parish leaders about the skills and talents needed in your next pastor, the PPB will be conducting a Parish Consultation at the Church of St. Mary on March 5, 2026. Two members of the PPB will facilitate two meetings, one with the staff and the other with the Parish Council Members and Finance Committee. These discussions are very important to give the Priests Placement Board insight about St. Mary’s and the capabilities needed in your next pastor.

The wisdom from the parishioners is also extremely important in the pastor selection process. To gather that wisdom, a form is being made available to parishioners to answer the following questions which the staff and lay leadership will also address in their discussions:

A.    What are the strengths of your parish? What is working very well presently?

B.     What are the specific challenges your parish is currently facing?

C.     What current ministries and programs in your parish are vitally important and must continue in order for the parish to remain vibrant and grow?

D.    What programs for parish renewal and evangelization are currently in place at your parish?

E.     What are the specific and unique skills, talents and capabilities needed in your next pastor?

These parishioner input forms will continue to be gathered until March 10, 2026.

The discernment process leads up to a two day meeting in March of 2026 whereby Cardinal Cupich gathers all of the input from the Parish Consultations and meets with the Vicar General, all the Auxiliary Bishops, the Priests Placement Board members, and other key personnel at the Archdiocese to make his decision about who he will appoint to be the next pastor of the Church of St. Mary as well as pastors for the other parishes in the pastor pool this year. Please pray for the continued guidance of the Holy Spirit to help identify the next pastoral leader of St. Mary’s.