WHITING – When Father Andrew Summerson, S.Th.D., and his wife Laura Ieraci were first assigned to St. Mary's Byzantine Catholic Church, they were told it was going to be St. Mary’s last chance. If the parish couldn’t be renewed, St. Mary’s would close. That was in 2017.
The couple arrived in January 2018 and found a small group of devoted, faithful and loving Byzantine Catholics, who had poured their lives into this little church. They felt welcomed with open arms and stood by the parish through thick and thin.
“We worked together and prayed together for the Blessed Mother to renew her church. By all our prayers and efforts, she did!,” Ieraci said.
She explained that sadly, many of the parishioners who welcomed them have passed or moved away, but believes they would be happy with the way our parish has grown – not just in number, but as a community of prayer and commitment to the Gospel.
Ieraci noted that since 2018, church attendance has more than doubled, the congregation has the most children and young families in recent memory, baptisms have started outpacing funerals, the buildings and shrines were repaired and restored, and the grounds were transformed into public prayer spaces.
“Our city can rely on us as partners in building community, and we have become valued collaborators in helping to promote Catholic culture in Northwest Indiana and Chicagoland,” she said.
Confident in the future, the church began the major restoration of its oldest sacred art – the stained-glass windows – and is planning structural improvements to make the church more accessible to children and adults with special needs.
“We are a 126-year-old church with our sights on the future,” Ieraci added.
On May 2, St. Mary's Hall filled with fellowship and music during the “Bluegrass, Bourbon and Bible Revival.” The event featured a concert by the Hillbilly Thomists Father Justin Bolger, OP, and Father Simon Teller, OP, followed by a conversation with Jennifer Newsome Martin, director of the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture at the University of Notre Dame.
In opening remarks, Father Summerson pointed out that bluegrass music got its start being played in church halls. The Bluegrass, Bourbon, and Bible Revival, he shared, was a way “to just open up what we're always about at St. Mary's, cracking open the beauty.”
He added that St. Mary’s is the oldest Eastern Catholic Church in Indiana and the Chicagoland area.
“We are part of the Catholic Church. We are a minority Church, but where are the majority?,” asked Father Summerson. “It's where everybody's getting hurt, like in Ukraine. Eastern Catholics are on the front lines, shedding their blood and keeping the faith in the Holy Land.
“They're not only taking the licks, they're also healing the wounds. That's what a Byzantine Catholic is really good at, and we do that in collaboration and in communion with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gary.”
The Diocese of Gary showed its support for the parish by being an event sponsor, and a noticeable number of members from around the diocese were in attendance, including Father Declan McNicholas, director of missionary discipleship and evangelization.
“I love how we're bringing the East and the West together in the Catholic Church,” he said. “There's some fun in being part of the valley.”
Father McNicholas complimented Father Summerson and the parish for bringing the local community together.
“They're doing really good things in Whiting,” he said.
Sister Gloria Jean Kozlowski, SSJ-TOSF, said she frequently visits the church and first heard the Hillbilly Thomists perform at the Pierogi Fest last summer.
“Any church that's gone through something wonderful, you'll usually see me there,” she said. “I'd rather be with people doing something, supporting somebody who's doing something good.”
The following day, May 3, the church celebrated the work and commitment of the parish community during the Accessibility to Beauty Gala. Anyone unable to attend either weekend event can still donate to the St. Mary’s Accessibility to Beauty Capital Campaign through its parish website https://stmarywhiting.org.
“It’s always a joy for me to share the wonderful things we do at St. Mary’s,” Ieraci said, “as we continue to labor in this vineyard called Northwest Indiana and Chicagoland with our parishioners and friends to bring the joy of the Gospel from the Byzantine tradition to the people in our midst!”
The recent bluegrass music concert was part of a series of activities organized within the diocese as part of the Year of Jubilee declared by Pope Francis. Other upcoming events include a Blue Mass (May 10), Independence Day Procession and Rosary (June 28), Migrant Mass (July 27) and Emmaus Conference (Aug. 9). For more information, visit dcgary.org/events/office-of-evangelization
