The new parish’s name, Our Lady of the Holy Family, was chosen to honor the twin legacies of the merged parishes.
“When the Cardinal’s decree was first published, the name of the newly created parish was a hyphenation of the two suppressed communities, Holy Family and Notre Dame de Chicago Parish,” said the Rev. Peter McQuinn, pastor. “During the Christmas Season, I suggested to parishioners that we start to identify ourselves as Our Lady of the Holy Family to see how it feels and to prime the pump for other potential names. I thought it was straightforward, including the names of the former parishes in a way that wasn’t too wordy or cumbersome. Notre Dame is ‘Our Lady,’ after all, and Holy Family is Holy Family.” Notre Dame translates to “Our Lady” from French.
“Mother Church offers clear guidance on how new parishes are to be named,” he continued. “We collected recommendations during Lent and Easter, submitted all name to the Archdiocese for approval, and then voted on the names that made the cut. Of the twelve names submitted, four were viable names. Our Lady of the Holy Family received the most votes from our parishioners.”
Cardinal Blaise Cupich accepted parishioners’ submission, and the Archdiocesan Presbyteral Council formally approved the parish’s name June 26.
“The custom is the parish bears the name of the church that sits there,” explained Larry Sorce, a diaconate candidate whose ordination has been delayed by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. “You also have two of the oldest churches in the archdiocese that are trying to figure out, ‘How do we come together as a community and honor the history of both places?’
“There are certain guidelines that you have to use,” Sorce continued. “It can’t be a duplicate of an existing name of a parish in your area. Most people seemed to feel that name that represented both church buildings in their histories would be worthwhile.”
“This was actually one of the ones I looked for—it kind of keeps Holy Family in the line,” said parishioner Pedroza. “It ties everything together pretty nicely.”
—Nathan Worcester