Ph: (773) 268-1518 Masses: Fr. Rick Andrus, pastor of St. Elizabeth Parish, Chicago, urges his parishioners to remember that St. Elizabeth’s has strong ties to two saintly Americans: Augustus Tolton and Katherine Drexel. St. Elizabeth’s also has deep roots in Chicago and the Society of the Divine Word has deep roots intertwined in its ministry there. This began as two parishes: St. Elizabeth, founded in 1881 to serve Irish Catholic Immigrants; and St. Monica, whose founding pastor in 1884 was Fr. Augustus Tolton, the first universally recognized African American priest. In 1917, Cardinal Mundelein entrusted St. Monica to the care of the Society of the Divine Word. By 1924, considerable racial change had occurred around St. Elizabeth as African Americans migrated from the South to look for work in Chicago, and the two parishes merged to become one community. Thus, St. Elizabeth became the Mother church of African American Catholics in the Chicago Archdiocese. In 1917, Mother Katherine Drexel sent a group of her Blessed Sacrament Sisters to serve Chicago’s African American community. Some began teaching at St. Elizabeth School, and to this day, Blessed Sacrament Sisters are part of the staff. Today, Fr. Rick says the African Americans who attend the church and send children to the school are still economically disadvantaged, “The median income of the families who belong to the parish is $15,000 per year, ninety-six percent of the families with children in the school have incomes below the poverty level. Tuition is $1,900 per year for one student; $2,750 for two students; ad $3,180 for three or more student families. Some scholarships are available. Parishioners and students come from the nearby public housing communities and from a vast area of the whole South Side of Chicago. Many people have their roots at St. Elizabeth’s and have kept kept their church memberships even though they may have moved great distances from the neighborhood. We have 360 students in the school, forty percent of whom are Catholic. Parents who work downtown find our location convenient. We provide before and after care for students, opening the school at 6:30 a.m. and providing care until 6:00 p.m. daily.” In addition to religious education programs for both school and parish youth, the parish center offers anti-gang/role modeling/after school program staffed solely by Chicago City Police and funded by a grant Fr. Rick obtained. Ten parish youths function as Mass servers who also participate in outings, youth retreats, and other events at area churches. A group of 7th to 12th graders meet weekly, share faith, and participate in social events, get involved in national meetings, workshops and retreats with other Black Catholic Youth Organizations. The atmosphere inside the parish complex is startlingly different from the dinginess of the neighbor-hood around it. For instance, in celebration of Black History month on February 24, many of the parishioners came to Mass in African-inspired garb, adding a special ambiance to the theme of Seeking God through Ujamaa, a Kiswahili word which means “sharing time, talent and treasure.” Following Mass, the church hall filled with adults and children
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