From the Pastor's Desk - 9/20/2026

    On Friday, September 18, Sean McDaniel received the Order of Candidacy. The gathering took place at Our Lady of Mercy Parish on Eola Road in Aurora. Sean has been in the Deacon program for 2 years now, and will be ordained in 3 more years. After his ordination to the Diaconate, Sean will be assigned to a parish by the bishop. 

     When I received Candidacy as a seminarian on my way to priesthood at St. Mary of the Lake in Mundelein, I was then put on the roster to “serve” the mass that we would have daily as a community. Sean will be shadowing me in my different ministries for some time, and will also assist me at some of my masses as a server. He will not distribute communion or read. He will assist me at the altar, help set up for mass, and learn how the Roman Missal works with the ribbon setting that we use on the altar. I appreciate Sean’s willingness to help and learn about becoming a deacon. Sean is in the insurance industry and does travel out of the country quite a bit. I am glad to have him.

     Please pray for vocations. The number of our retired priests continues to grow. We have been blessed in many ways with priests in our diocese; but those days are slowly, but surely coming to an end. Many of our seminarians today are men who have completed college and have been working at some kind of career or job. Pray for, and encourage men to think about priesthood for our Catholic faith.

 Peace……Fr. Jeff