While Father Carl is on Vacation, our Oak Park Parishes' Operations Directors offer some parish updates!

FROM THE DESK OF ASCENSION AND ST. EDMUND OPERATIONS DIRECTOR, CARLOS GUERRERO - ARTICLE FROM OUR PARISH BULLETIN – OCTOBER 12, 2025

I want to begin by thanking you for your ongoing support of the parish. Fr. Carl and all of us on the staff appreciate each one of you.

Fall is upon us and our thriving parish is off to a busy start. The summer was equally busy and allowed us the chance to tackle a number of improvement projects across our campuses. I have shared some of them in various bulletin articles. Below are additional ones.

New Website and Logo! - A new website was launched in July for both Catholic parishes in Oak Park, the Catholic Communities of Oak Park and Neighbors. I invite you to visit the new parish website at catholiccommunitiesofoakpark.org. Not only is the website valuable to our parishioners, it is helping attract new people to our faith communities through the I m New tab where we interact with those who have questions. We also have a beautiful new parish logo representing our unified parish. The logo honors the legacy of our former parishes while also representing who we are today.

Ascension Parking Lot - The parking lot next to Ascension Church was recently sealed. It not only improved the appearance, but it increases safety and extends its life. The parking lot next to the Parish Center on the Ascension campus will soon be receiving some much-needed sewer maintenance and will also be resurfaced. I will share more details as I have more information.

Ascension School Fence - The new fence around the green at Ascension School has received a lot of praise and was an important safety enhancement for the school. While the new fence does not actually block entry into any of our spaces, I am aware that the beautiful Labyrinth next to Ascension Church now feels a little less accessible. As a result, we are in the process of making changes to improve accessibility to the Labyrinth. We are grateful to the generous donor who covered the cost of the fence.

St. Edmund Parking Lot - The parking lot was resealed over the summer thanks to the generosity of a parishioner who expressed an interest in this project and defray its cost.

Ascension Parish Center Air-Conditioning - A new compressor was installed in the Parish Center.

Listen WIFI System (formerly Listen EVERYWHERE System) - The Listen WIFI System at both worship spaces has been significantly updated. The system allows people with hearing aids and Bluetooth to use their smart phones for assisted listening. We have upgraded our hardware and bandwidth so that connections are more secure and easily accessed. The Listen WIFI System itself was upgraded to the latest version to ensure ease with connectivity. We are looking for volunteers to assist at each of the Masses to help parishioners access the Listen WIFI System. Let me know if you are interested.

Staffing - Parish Operations will be filling a part-time bookkeeper role with a specific skillset. If you know of someone with a finance and/or accounting background who may be interested in a part-time position, please have them email me directly.

Thank you!
Carlos Guerrero
Operations Director, Ascension and St. Edmund Parish
[email protected]

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FROM THE DESK OF ST. CATHERINE OF SIENA-ST. LUCY AND ST. GILES OPERATIONS DIRECTOR, MATT BROPHY - ARTICLE FROM OUR PARISH BULLETIN – OCTOBER 12, 2025

When I started working at the parish in January 2021, Father Carl wondered if I would have enough work to keep me busy. The first project was a broken water main to the Gleeson building that occurred over the Christmas holiday. The rest has been history!

As Operations Director, my focus is on four components of parish ministry:

• Financial Management
• School Support
• Building Management
• HR Management

Today, I would like to highlight one major component of my work with the two campuses, namely building management. The parish has a well-functioning Facilities Committee comprised of members of both the Saint Catherine of Siena-Saint Lucy and the Saint Giles communities. The committee meets a minimum of 6 times per year to review repairs, renovations, capital projects and other needs of each campus. A member of the committee maintains a detailed spreadsheet of work that has been completed on each campus as well as work that needs to be done. All projects and repairs are prioritized as High, Medium, or Low.

At the SCSL campus major boiler and heating repairs have been completed on the main boilers that heat the school, the former convent and the church facilities. The rectory boiler was replaced, the main parking lot was resurfaced, major plumbing repairs were completed in both SisterHouse (the former convent) and the former rectory, and the 4th floor of the school was painted for a multipurpose room to be used as a worship space along with other needs of the school. Housing Forward now leases the entire former rectory with The Neighborhood Bridge. A grant awarded to Housing Forward funded the installation of new central AC and will also fund a new roof to replace the 1964 roof on the former rectory. Faith and Fellowship continues to meet in the building celebrating the legacy of Connie Rakitan.

At the Saint Giles campus some of the repairs have included reroofing the bell tower, replacing exterior sidewalks and/or steps where there were safety or fall risks, and replacement of 12 windows on the rectory and 28 windows on the first floor of the Dore Parish Center. New rooftop AC units were installed for the Church as well as a new unit installed for McDonough Hall after ice fell from the roof and destroyed the original unit. Additional work was completed in the Gleeson building to add central AC to the preschool rooms and enhanced fire safety equipment before the two-year-old preschool opened.

As Operations Director, I strive to be a good steward for the financial resources of the parish. Under the guidance of Father Carl, the Finance Committee and the Facilities Committee, I have been able to maintain and make improvements at both campus sites. On behalf of the entire faith community thank you for your generous support of our parish. 

If you have any questions or concerns for me or the Facilities Committee, please call me at (708) 383-3430 ext. 102 or email me at [email protected].

Matt Brophy
Operations Director
St. Catherine of Siena-St. Lucy and St. Giles Parish