Chapel continues St. Catherine-St. Lucy spiritual mission 

The June closure of St. Catherine of Siena-St. Lucy Catholic church in Oak Park still hurts for many, including the Rev. Carl Morello, who presided over the final mass.  

But the opening of a new chapel space on the fourth floor of St. Catherine -St. Lucy School at 27 Washington Blvd. is bridging the gap between then and now and helping continue the church’s mission of formation of spiritual hearts. 

A weekly service is held at 8:30 a.m. Tuesdays for students, though the public is welcome. 

“It’s a smaller space, so it’s more intimate, and what I said to the kids when we first started, we’ve created a church space, but what’s important about any church isn’t the space … it’s the people,” Morello said. “They are what make the place special and sacred.” 

Sharon Leamy, the school’s principal, was a key driver behind the chapel’s formation. Leamy also credited Louie Weiss, the operations director. Leamy said, “giving up mass was never going to be an option,” so finding a viable space in school was imperative. 

The pair looked at the gymnasium, but that wasn’t feasible due to the preparations that need to be made for mass. Instead, they selected a fourth-floor multi-purpose space with a dropped ceiling. Grant money was used to purchase new furniture and chairs, and painting was completed. Weiss and Morello worked together to erect the altar and the cross and bring in the sound system.  

“The kids hike up to the fourth floor,” Leamy said. “I was worried about their reverence, but they’ve been very good. We don’t have kneelers, so Father has taught them how to stand through the consecration of the Eucharist. 

“It’s been a good solution, and it’s probably the best solution we had here. The most important thing is that we’re celebrating mass. It shouldn’t matter what it looks like,” said Leamy. 

Morello agreed, noting that the chapel area was blessed as a sacred space at the first mass. The other half of that area is the school’s lunchroom. 

“There is value in calling kids together as a community of faith for prayer,” he said. 

There are pros and cons to the space. There is no elevator to reach the fourth floor, so community members that want to attend mass will have to hike with the students up the stairs. On the other hand, students won’t have to file out of the school into rain or snow. 

As for the church building, Morello agreed that the closure still stings to a certain degree. He said there have been discussions with potential lessees for the church property, but nothing concrete yet. A statement from the Archdiocese of Chicago noted that it “doesn’t comment on real estate transactions.” 

“There is still a sense of loss, and the people who were parishioners at St. Catherine-St. Lucy are going to St. Giles,” Morello said of the church at 1045 Columbian Ave., where he is also pastor. “Some are going to St. Edmund,” located at 188 S. Oak Park Ave. 

“Others have other spiritual homes,” he said. “The people coming that we know seem to be doing the best they can. They are trying to make a new connection with the community at St. Giles.”