St. John XXIII Parish Evanston

10/26/2026

This morning at the 10:00 mass we had a very special celebration of the Rite of Candidacy for the Sacrament of Confirmation. This is an important milestone in the faith journey of our young people.

Throughout Scripture, when God calls, those chosen respond, “Here I am”. In a similar spirit, our confirmands publicly respond to the Church’s call and express their desire to continue preparing for Confirmation.

This ritual reminds us that faith formation is not a journey undertaken alone. It is a communal commitment involving the young people, their parents, sponsors, catechists, and the entire parish assembly. Together, we affirm our responsibility to accompany, encourage, and support them as they grow in faith.

At St. John XXIII we have 79 confirmands participating in our program.
- 27 students in the English program
- four 8th-grade student from PJ23 school
- 48 students in the Spanish program

Let us continue to pray for these youth and their families. Let us also avail ourselves to talk about our faith with them, to model the Gospel through our actions, to encourage their faith journey, to share our love for Jesus and for the church. Come Holy Spirit!

10/23/2026

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Fr. Jean-Philippe!

This morning at the 8:00 mass at St. Mary we laid hands on him and gave him this birthday blessing:

Gracious and loving Father,
Today, on Fr. Jean-Philippe’s birthday, we give you thanks for the life and priestly vocation of our pastor. You have called him to serve your people, to proclaim your word, to celebrate the Holy Eucharist, and to be an instrument of your mercy and love.

Pour out your abundant blessings upon him today and throughout the coming year. Strengthen him with the grace of his priesthood, sustain him through the power of the Eucharist, and renew him through the presence of the Holy Spirit.

May he always find joy in serving your people, courage in proclaiming the Gospel, and peace in knowing that he is never alone. When he grows weary, be his strength. When he faces difficult decisions, be his wisdom. When he needs encouragement, let him feel the love and gratitude of this parish family.

Through the intercession of Mary, Mother of God, and all the saints, protect Fr. Jean-Philippe in his vocation and help him grow ever more deeply in the heart of Jesus. AMEN

10/15/2026

We are very excited to invite all St. John XXIII parishioners to experience a Taste of ALPHA! Come learn what Alpha is about on either October 25 or November 1.

10/12/2026

This weekend was a spirit-filled time as we held many liturgies celebrating our patron saint St. John XXIII. From Saturday’s vigil mass, all the weekend masses receiving prayers for his intercessions, and to end with a beautiful vespers service, it was a remarkable weekend for a truly remarkable servant of God. St. John XXIII, pray for us.

10/09/2026

Thank you, John Schuchert, for live streaming last night's memorial concert for Gabe Huck. The sound is excellent! For Theresa's remarks, go to the one hour, twelve minute mark.

Donate to the Gabe Huck Scholarship Endowment at Emory at https://g...

10/09/2026

From Gabe's last article in the LTP journal Rite::

"We come, as always, to the liturgy hungry to be in the company of one another, thirsty for the word of God and eager to give the thanks that we will voice around the table. We come, child and adult, diverse in age and education and income and ethnic background, hungry to sing and process and so at last come to the table where we dine on the body and blood of the one in whom we have died, only to live forever. We come to do what we—the never-quite-ready assembly—can do: the ritual words and songs and postures and deeds that in the grace of God build up the body of Christ. We come because we have witnessed that in this assembly the gospel has been preached, not in words only but in forgiveness extended, in a justice that heals, in humble service, in mighty arguments about dozens of things, in hundreds of people who have discovered their hunger and thirst and taken responsibility as persons baptized into Christ… It is Sunday-by-Sunday eucharist done heart and soul and spirit by our assemblies that proclaims in a sort of parable what kind of world we mean to be….How do we get gospel and eucharist so into our muscles and eyes and mouths that we will be our baptized selves thoroughly and with no space or time left for any citizenship incompatible with citizenship in the reign of God?"

09/27/2026

Extra layers of clothing were in order, but the cool weather put no damper on the spirits at our OktoberFiesta block party. The planning team did an amazing job, once again, in setting up an afternoon and evening of excellent food, music, and fun. The smiles say it all!

09/23/2026

UPDATED: Evanston's Bike the Ridge is back this weekend! Ridge Avenue will be closed to ALL vehicular traffic from Howard to Church Streets from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. If you plan on driving during that time, please note: Residents along Ridge will not be able to use their driveways between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Sun., Sept. 27. If you plan to use a car, please park it on a side street before 8 a.m. on Sept. 27. East/west streets that intersect with Ridge and have a traffic signal will be open as normal; unsignaled side streets will be barricaded and will not have access to Ridge Ave.

St. Mary parking can be entered as normal. To get to St. Mary, if coming from the East/West, cross Ridge at one of the following streets: Davis, Lake, Dempster, Greenleaf, Main, or Oakton.

To get to St. Nick's, take Asbury if coming from north/south. If coming from the East/West, cross at Main or Oakton. Then Go to Asbury and enter on the Washington St. alley entrance.

09/15/2026

Ready for Christmas?
It's Shoebox Christmas time this weekend! Please join us for our wrapping and packing event on September 18th from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and September 19th from 10 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. in the school cafeteria. We will be packing shoeboxes full of new gifts for the children on Native American Reservations. This is often the only gift they will receive. You can also drop off a wrapped and packed shoebox, extra gifts or give a monetary donation.

07/02/2026

It's impossible to overstate how deeply Gabe Huck and his wife Theresa shaped the liturgical life and the Peace & Justice work of St. Nicholas parish in their time with us. We sing your words over and over, Gabe, with deepest gratitude.

🙏 GIA mourns the passing of liturgist and text author Gabe Huck. In addition to his work with Liturgy Training Publications, Gabe collaborated on many songs published by GIA.

Vice President of Sacred Music Kate Williams wrote: "Gabe's deep intellect and sincere practice resounds in every interview he gave, every article or book he wrote, every discreet contribution in collaboration with clergy and lay people across a multitude of platforms that are still reaching those who are longing to be connected once again to their place in the liturgy of life."

May the angels lead you into the paradise you so beautifully pointed our eyes toward by your witness.