WHEREAS, St. Adrian Parish at 7000 South Washtenaw Avenue in Chicago, established by His Eminence George Cardinal Mundelein, will commemorate the ninetieth anniversary of its founding on June 3, 2018 with Mass conducted by His Eminence Blase Cardinal Cupich; and
WHEREAS, the City of Chicago has been informed of this historic anniversary by Alderman Edward M. Burke; and
WHEREAS, on June 8, 1928, Father Leo McNamara, Assistant Pastor to Father William Lynch at St. Bride's Parish in Chicago received a summons to appear in the Chancery Office; and
WHEREAS, Father William Lynch informed Father Leo McNamara that he was to become Pastor of the new St. Adrian Church, honoring the patron saint of soldiers; and
WHEREAS, on June 28, 1928, the entire St. Bride's Parish hosted a farewell reception for Father Leo McNamara as he prepared to assume his duties; and
WHEREAS, with their blessings and prayers, the church and its congregations presented Father Leo McNamara with a purse of $2,100 to help him build the new Parish of St. Adrian; and
WHEREAS, the church property, located in the vicinity of 71st Street and Fairfield Avenue, was a vacant weed lot awaiting ground breaking when Father Leo McNamara first visited the site; and
WHEREAS, Father Leo McNamara arranged for temporary living quarters at 6708 South Claremont Avenue, a location destined to become the Church Rectory; and
WHEREAS, Father Leo McNamara, assisted by two altar boys, "Babe" Gardener and "Spike" Wetterahn, conducted the first Mass inside the corridor of the McKay Public School; and
WHEREAS, Several Masses were held at McKay School as Father Leo McNamara and the Parish organizations raised funds for the construction of the church and the school; and
WHEREAS, the parish made a down payment on April 1, 1929 applied to the $150,000 mortgage; and
WHEREAS, His Eminence George Cardinal Mundelein and members of the St. Adrian Parish broke ground on April 13, 1929 at the southwest corner of 70th Street and Washtenaw Avenue; and
WHEREAS, on May 5, 1929 a formal procession formed up at the corner of 69th Street and Western Avenue to celebrate the laying of the cornerstone for the Tudor and Gothic-designed church and school; and
WHEREAS, under the leadership of Father Leo McNamara the parish formed a branch of the Holy Name Society, the Altar and Rosary Society and the Young Ladies Guild; and
WHEREAS, after many years of serving parishioners and the Southwest Side community, St. Adrian suffered an enrollment decline proportionate to increasing numbers of church members leaving the community; and
WHEREAS, in 2008, Reverend Thomas Mescall, a former practicing attorney and judge in the municipal, district and probate courts in Albuquerque, New Mexico and former associate pastor at St. Terrence in Alsip, Illinois, became parish administrator at St. Adrian; and
WHEREAS, the Reverend Thomas Mescall, who had grown up across the street from St. Leo's rectory on the South Side, was appointed to the pastorate in 2012; and
WHEREAS, the Reverend Thomas Mescall oversaw a successful revitalization of the church, the parish buildings and by increasing membership and participation in religious education for young people and parish functions; and
WHEREAS, the Escuela de la Cruz (School of the Cross), a lay ministry for Spanish-speaking Catholics was instrumental in the impressive re-birth and re-vitalization of historic St. Adrian Parish; and
WHEREAS, St. Adrian Parish adopted St. Josephine Margaret Bakhita, whom Pope John Paul II canonized in 2000, as an "unofficial" patron saint now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, that we, the Mayor and the members of the Chicago City Council, assembled this twenty-third day of May, 2018 do hereby congratulate the Reverend Thomas Mescall and the Parish of St. Adrian on the 90th anniversary of its founding; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a suitable copy of this resolution be tend€>ed to the Reverend
Thomas Mescall. / / // /
Aldenman Edward M. Burke Ulderman-14th Ward