Dear Parishioners,

In this, my final bulletin article as pastor of St. Joan of Arc Parish, I want to express my deepest gratitude for the great privilege it has been to serve the community of faith for the past eighteen years. When I turn back the pages of time and recall the significant moments that punctuated these years, I am in awe of God’s mysterious grace that made these moments possible.

I think of the years I was gifted to work with Sr. Carolyn, OSB, as the principal of our school from whom I learned so much. Her beautiful example of leadership is summarized in the statement she made when she was close to death – When you’re loved, you love. Her own experience of being loved by her family and community formed her to be the loving person she was. I felt equally blessed to have worked with Mrs. Michelle Picchione, who continued Sister’s legacy of love. And I am proud of the many customs and rituals we began at our school while I was pastor, e.g., our annual visit to the Lisle Police Station on the feast of St. Michael, the patron saint of law officers, our January 22 day of prayer and adoration for a greater respect of human life, our Friday afternoon music rehearsal combined with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.

I was honored to have been the spiritual guide for two pilgrimages organized by our parishioners; one to the Holy Land and the second to Rome, Assisi and Turin during the public showing of the Holy Shroud. In addition, we sponsored a day trip to the chapel of St. Joan of Arc at the University of Marquette during the Year of St. Joan commemorating the 600th anniversary of her birth.

I learned a great deal from the two capital campaigns that we undertook while I was pastor. The first of these allowed us to make some much-needed repairs and renovations at our school, as well as several modifications that beautified our Adoration and Parish Center. Around this same time, we removed the wooden exterior of the church and replaced it with a stone facing that not only gave it elegance but also connected it to that biblical symbol of the church built of living stones that reflects the parishioners who worshipped there. The second capital campaign gave us the funds needed to enhance the interior of our church that included new flooring, paint and the restoration of pews. This was made possible because of the generous and professional expertise of Deacon Jack Hayes, who oversaw all of the engineering and construction aspects. This project was completed in time for our parish Centennial Celebration in 2024 that culminated in a solemn Eucharistic Liturgy presided over by Bishop Hicks. The spiritual, interior enhancement of the faith life of our parish complemented the exterior enhancements of the church. The former included new programs of Adult Faith Formation as well as the ongoing renewal of the OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation of Adults).

The Liturgical life of St. Joan of Arc Parish continued to grow in rich and creative ways under the talent and direction of Mr. Jim Susic, our music director. He took the parish to new heights of excellence by introducing section leaders to the choir, incorporating a wider selection of music and making abundant use of a wide electronic screen that enabled us to include songs that were not in the hymnal. More ample use of instruments and other musical features intensified the overall fuller participation of people at our liturgies that was immediately noticed by visitors who also appreciated the hospitable welcome they received by our greeters. Working with Jim Susic was a tremendous honor for many reasons, not the least of which was because he did whatever I asked him to do without grumbling. Ha ha. I once thought that I would never again be able to undertake liturgical ministry anywhere without Jim. But, fear not, he’s not going to the abbey with me. He’s remaining at St. Joan of Arc, which is truly his home.

While I served at St. Joan of Arc, I witnessed consistent generosity from our people, not because of me, but because generosity is an organic hallmark of this parish. Second collections, collections taken up at times of crisis and the outpouring of monies for the St. Vincent de Paul Society is a testimony to the social concern that flowed out from the liturgy to the concern of God’s people who are in need. Generosity was also manifested by a single parish family that funded the refurbishing and relocation of our church bells that peal with joy and toll with sadness, depending on the occasion.

The sharing of blessings was also evident in parishioners who made it possible for us to commission original artwork such as the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Burning Bush votive light holder, the glass panels of saints that are destined to be enshrined on the large wall in the church lobby where they will be better seen and venerated.

I gained much appreciation for the sacrament of Matrimony by participating in the preparation of engaged couples as well as by presiding at their weddings. In addition, all of the sacramental rituals that I celebrated here became formative of my own love for our Catholic faith including those final rites of passage whereby we commended our loved ones to God. I never imagined that I would be the priest who offered those many funerals for parishioners who had been great pillars of this community – men and women who now, in the fullness of God’s presence, support us still.

In all these years, I was blessed with the loving support of my brother monks, many of whom served here at St. Joan of Arc and who felt an unbreakable bond with this parish founded by St. Procopius Abbey in 1924. Even my family from Ohio experienced great welcome whenever they visited our parish that will always have a unique and sacred place in their hearts.

I am certain there is much more I could extoll about this parish, but it would require this entire bulletin. So allow me to borrow the words of St. Paul in his letter to the Philippians (1:3-11) when he wrote:

I give thanks to my God at every remembrance of you, praying always with joy in my every prayer for all of you because of your partnership for the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right that I should think this way about all of you, because I hold you in my heart, you who are all partners with me in grace. And this is my prayer: that your love may increase ever more and more in knowledge and every kind of perception, to discern what is of value, so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.

Blessings forever,
Fr. Gabriel, O.S.B.

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