St. Gertrude Chicago

All are Welcome

1420 W. Granville,

Chicago, IL 60660

773.764.3621

stgertrude1420@stgertrudechicago.org

www.stgertrudechicago.org

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

October 25, 2026

November is the Month of Remembrance

Altar of Remembrance/Book of the Dead 

Beginning this weekend, we invite you to bring a photo for the Altar of Remembrance, which will be located in front of the St. Thérèse Shrine at the front of the church. Photos may be placed at any time and can be picked up Thanksgiving weekend. Please include your phone number on the back of each photo.

The Book of the Dead will also be located there. Everyone is invited to inscribe the names of their deceased loved ones in the book.

Mass of Remembrance on All Souls Day

Each year, during the month of November, we remember in a special way all those who have died in our parish, as well as the deceased loved ones of our parishioners. On All Souls Day, Monday, November 2, we will celebrate a special Mass at 6:30 p.m. We will pray for everyone inscribed in the Book of the Dead, as well as for those who have died in the past year (from November 2025 to the present).

This Friday: Forum on Magnifica Humanitas

Join Commonweal Action/Commonweal Dialogue this Friday, October 23, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm in the Social Hall for an evening of timely and thought-provoking discussion on Pope Leo’s recent encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, which explores humanity and artificial intelligence.

Professor Joseph Vukov, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Associate Director of the Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage at Loyola University Chicago, will lead the forum and discuss the importance and implications of the encyclical for all of us as we navigate the rapidly changing world of artificial intelligence.

You are encouraged to read Magnifica Humanitas before the forum. Read the encyclical on the Vatican website. Come anyway if you don't have time to read it!

Be prepared for an enlightening evening with timely and lively discussion. Pizza and wine will be served, and contributions to share are gratefully welcomed.

Gym Mass Happening This Weekend

There WILL be a Gym Mass on October 25.

The 10:30 am Gym Mass schedule is scheduled the week before each Sunday. Please check the e-bulletin for the most current schedule, or contact the parish office at 773-764-3621, Monday–Friday, 8:30 am–4:30 pm, or email news@stgertrudechicago.org.

We look forward to gathering with you!

Share What You Can: Care for Real Collection Planned for This Weekend

Our community has an ongoing opportunity to put compassion into action. On October 24 and 25, please bring nonperishable food and other essential items to the Care for Real Collection before or after any Mass at St. Gertrude.



Throughout the year, St. Gertrude partners with Care for Real by holding collections on the first and fourth weekends of each month. These regular collections allow us to respond to changing needs in our neighborhood and ensure that families and individuals have access to basic necessities.

Not sure what to bring? For Care for Real’s current wish list and links to its social media pages, visit linktr.ee/cfrchicago.

Thank you for sharing what you can. Every donation, large or small, is a reminder to our neighbors that they are cared for and not alone.

National Vocation Awareness Week

National Vocation Awareness Week will be celebrated in our country November 1-7, 2026. Please ask our Lord for more dedicated, holy priests, deacons, and consecrated men and women. May they be inspired by Jesus Christ, supported by our faith community, and respond generously to God’s gift of vocation.

Find out about upcoming vocations events, ways to discover God’s will, and more at vocations.archchicago.org.

Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership: Listening Sessions

St. Gertrude is a member of CSPL, the Chicago-based organization that has led the internationally recognized effort to minister to migrants detained at the Broadview Detention Center. CSPL helps people understand their faith differently and empowers them to act boldly to improve lives and communities.

A small team of St. Gertrude parishioners is conducting 1:1 conversations with others in our church community to learn about the social justice issues they care about. The purpose is to determine which issues we might best respond to as a parish and as part of CSPL. If you would like to participate, please contact Jeanne Rattenbury: jeanne.rattenbury@gmail.com. 

Monthly Meeting on Saturday, November 7

Our next Commonweal team meeting is Saturday, November 7 from 1:30-3:00 pm in the Ministry Center. Come together to build relationships with fellow parishioners and discuss how to help advance St. Gertrude’s commitments to social justice, human concerns and faith formation through our participation in CSPL.

Book Club Gathering on Tuesday, November 10

Join us for a discussion of Nemesis by Philip Roth on Tuesday, November 10 at 6:30 pm at the Ministry Center, 6214 W. Glenwood. New participants are always welcome!

For questions, contact Lea Cloninger (773.213.0509) or Sue Benjamin (773.551.8401).

CORRECTED INFO: You're Invited: A Listening Session on Catholic Teaching, Practice, Tradition on Sunday, November 8



A number of members of our parish community have expressed interest in coming together to discuss and deepen their understanding of what it means to be a member of the Catholic community and of Catholic Practice, Tradition, and Teaching.

The Adult Spirituality and Formation Committee is hosting a Listening Session on Sunday, November 8, at 11:30 am in the Ministry Center to discuss how we might best meet this interest. Join fellow parishioners in a session where we can share our interest and suggestions. This is a welcoming opportunity to hear one another as we look toward developing experiences which will allow us, in community, to reflect on and grow in our understanding of who we are as members of the Catholic Church.

Friendship Club is Thursday, November 12

The St. Gertrude Women's Friendship Club meets on the second Thursday of each month in the Ministry Center, 6214 N. Glenwood Ave. Gatherings begin at 11:30 am, and participants are invited to bring a brown-bag lunch.

Join us for fellowship, conversation, and friendship!

The Feast of St. Gertrude is November 15

Join us on on Sunday, November 15 as we celebrate the Feast of St. Gertrude! Like any family gathering, we’ll come together to share food, connect with one another, and look with hope toward the future.

That morning, all are invited to our Cub Scouts Pancake Breakfast in our Social Hall. More details about the the times and cost will be shared next weekend.

At 10:30 am, there will be a combined Mass in church. (There is no Gym Mass.)

Celebrating Faith in Action!

We’re delighted to share that parishioner Jeanne Rattenbury will represent St. Gertrude in Rome later this month as part of a delegation that will meet with Pope Leo XIV! St. Gertrude is a member of the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership (CSPL), which has organized the pilgrimage.

CSPL has been a leading voice in advocating for the spiritual rights of people detained at the Broadview ICE detention facility. Their efforts helped secure access to pastoral care for those detained, an important step toward upholding human dignity and religious freedom.

During their visit, the delegation will express gratitude to Pope Leo for his moral leadership and vocal support of migrants and will meet with the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development to discuss human rights and immigration issues.

We’re proud of Jeanne and the entire CSPL delegation for putting Catholic social teaching into action and working to build a more just and compassionate world. Please join us in wishing them a meaningful and inspiring journey!

For more information about this, check out WGN's story: https://wgntv.com/news/pope-leo/pope-leo-scheduled-to-meet-chicago-catholic-group-amid-lung-cancer-recovery/

Thank You for Supporting World Mission Sunday

Jesus said, “I pray… so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, [and] the world may believe that you sent me.” (John 17:21-22) 

On behalf of the global network of prayer and charity known as the Pontifical Mission Societies, thank you for celebrating World Mission Sunday last week. Our participation is a living sign of unity and missionary communion. Your prayers and contributions will make a difference in often challenging, poor, conflict-ridden and remote mission areas. Our faith community raised $1,198.10 to benefit the Pontifical Mission Society for the Propagation of the Faith overseen by Pope Leo XIV.

Thank you for your generosity! 

Growing in Faith



There are all kinds of cultural tropes about neighbors. Sitcoms from the 70s, 80s, and 90s often revolve around the dynamic between protagonist and neighbor: Mr. Roper. Urkel. Wilson. Rhoda. Kimmy Gibbler. Betty and Barney Rubble. They made us laugh and cringe, and they made us wonder: What would I do if my own neighbor acted like that?

This Sunday’s readings share the theme of neighbor. In Exodus, God asks the Israelites to remember that they were once foreigners, aliens, and persecuted people, and to let that identity shape how they treat those around them: “you shall not act like an extortioner,” and “you shall return [your neighbor’s] cloak” when the sun goes down and the cool sets in. The psalm reminds us that God is our refuge, home base, and shield. Fortified by that stability, we can approach others with the compassion God shows us. Paul encourages the new disciples in Thessalonica to stay the course as they adjust to new ways of relating to old neighbors. And lastly, in the Gospel, Jesus names loving God as the greatest commandment and loving neighbor as the second-greatest commandment, the one on which “the whole law and the prophets” depend.

Why are God and sitcoms so concerned with neighbors? What do neighbors teach us? And what do they require of us? I believe God’s kingdom is a neighborhood. God shows us, through God’s protective action and steadfast love, how to be a good neighbor. In a neighborhood, you don’t select who lives next to you, and you don’t set the rules. We can’t control Steve Urkel or Mr. Roper, and—at first, at least—we certainly wouldn’t choose them! But nevertheless, with neighbors, we enact God’s own generosity by extending compassion and hospitality, and even growing in intimacy with them.

Our neighborhoods are not so much “practice runs” for our future with God or tests of faith, but instead, they give us the opportunity to build God’s kingdom right here and right now, at the corner of Granville or Glenwood Avenue—or at whatever intersection where we find ourselves.

Mara Brecht

Upcoming Changes to Our Parish Bulletin

We are excited to announce some upcoming changes to the St. Gertrude parish bulletin. In the coming weeks, we will be transitioning to a new printing company, LPI.

As part of this transition, the back page of our bulletin will feature advertisements from local businesses. This will help offset the cost of printing and allow us to continue providing a quality weekly bulletin to our parish community.

If you own or operate a local business, we invite you to consider advertising in our bulletin. It’s a wonderful way to support St. Gertrude while connecting your business with members of our parish community.

Interested in learning more? Please email news@stgertrudechicago.org, and we will put you in contact with LPI for additional information.

We are grateful to our parishioners and local businesses for supporting St. Gertrude and helping make our bulletin possible each week.

New Parishioners

• Patricia Gallagher
• The Kajah family
• Claire Rice, Piercey and Sully Horton

Ministers of the Word

• Saturday, October 24 at 5:00 pm - Patrick T. Reardon, Mary Clare Barker
• Sunday, October 25 at 8:00 am - Jennifer Kiedaisch, Kathryn Stimac
• Sunday, October 25 at 10:30 am - Jacalyn Meier, Lulu Tabora 

Eucharistic Ministers

• Saturday, October 24 at 5:00 pm - Kathleen Wall
• Sunday, October 25 at 8:00 am - Rob Sierzega
• Sunday, October 25 at 10:30 am - Robert Backis, Troy McMillan, Sarah Millar

Altar Servers

• Saturday, October 24 at 5:00 pm - cross bearer: Carter Dant; acolyte: Wyatt Dant, Raiden Cruz
• Sunday, October 25 at 8:00 am - Bradley Phelps
• Sunday, October 25 at 10:30 am - cross bearer: Oscar Lassus; acolytes: Xavier Lassus, Jayson Ameyaw

Upcoming Mass Intentions


Monday, October 26: 7:30 am - Communion Service

Tuesday, October 27: 7:30 am - Mary Ellen Mellon+

Wednesday, October 28: 7:30 am

Thursday, October 29: 7:30 am - Greg Wall+

Friday, October 30: 7:30 am

Saturday, October 31: 5:00 pm - Fr. Dominic Grassi+

Sunday, November 1: 8:00 am; 10:30 am - Jerry Clark+; Gym Mass

If you would like to add a name to the prayer list, please contact the Rectory at 773.764.3621 or email stgertrude1420@stgertrudechicago.org. Names will remain on the list for three weeks. After that time, please renew the name using same contact information.