Issue of February 15th – February 28th
Schools offer $1 million fund for families out of work
Also announced: St. Priscilla and St. Beatrice elementary schools to close in June
The Mascios are the kind of people the Archdiocese of Chicago and the Big Shoulders Fund had in mind when they announced the creation of a $1 million emergency scholarship fund Jan. 30 to help Catholic school families who have seen a breadwinner laid off.
With three children at St. Ann School, 2211 W. 18th Place in Pilsen (the oldest graduated last year) Michael Mascio lost his job as a union roofer in November. His wife, Oralia, has a part-time job.
Fire at Holy Name Cathedral doesn’t stop parish life
As workers cleaned up Holy Name Cathedral and evaluated the damage caused by a Feb. 4 fire, clergy and parishioners got on with the business of worship.
For the second time in just under a year, the cathedral has become unusable because of damage. Last February, it was wood falling from the ceiling that closed the 134-year-old building’s doors; this year, less than six months after the cathedral reopened, a fire in the attic area just below the roof left the oak and walnut ceiling intact but did enough damage to close the building while repairs are made.
Paul as a prayer partner
Since the Year of St. Paul began and we have presented something about the Apostle in each issue, a few people have mentioned that Paul can be difficult to develop a devotion to. “I feel like he’s always yelling at me,” one person said. While it can seem that way, that doesn’t mean Paul isn’t spiritual friend material.
‘Devotional exercise’ brings Gospel to life
When Brad Sherrill set out to memorize the complete Gospel of John, he didn’t know that performing it would become a way of life for the next several years.
Lambert broke down barriers through his ordination
Father Rollins Lambert, who passed away Jan. 25, had the distinction of being the first African American to be ordained a priest in the Archdiocese of Chicago. But the color of his skin was not what his St. Mary of the Lake Seminary classmates said they saw in him.
‘Coraline’ offers glimpse of dark
Coraline” is a 3-D, hyper-imaginative, postmodern fairy tale set in the rainy Northwest and a parallel universe. Actually, it’s adolescent Coraline’s ideal, cloned universe with her “other” mother — you know, the good kind of mother that serves your favorite food, dotes only on you and lets you do whatever you want. What starts off as a dream world becomes a nightmare, and Coraline learns to appreciate her real, not-perfect, but loving parents. (Moms and Dads everywhere are going to love this movie.) Dakota Fanning excellently voices Coraline with loads of nuanced expression.
St. Paul’s on the road again — A 14-foot tall statue of St. Paul stood for years outside the Daughters of St. Paul convent, a few blocks from the ferry boat terminal on Staten Island, N.Y. 
Our living room has been turned into a race track.
Not your average racetrack, either. This one features castles and mountains, beaches and a European-looking town square.
