Welcome
Welcome to the St. Francis web site! We celebrate the traditional Tridentine Mass in English every Sunday at 10 am and we invite you to stop by and join us. You are welcome to take Holy Communion, whether a Christian or not; whether divorced or not; whether you’ve ever taken communion before or not. We break bread with all to whom the Lord Christ would show love and compassion --- namely yourself.
Join us for refreshments afterwards, and do visit our library. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to ask our clergy or congregation members. St. Francis is not only a church, but is also a center that encourages community through the spiritual growth of every person.
The Church of St. Francis
The Liberal Catholic Church, Province of the US
12 West School Street
(Northwest corner of Ardmore and School)
Villa Park, Illinois 60181
(630) 834-3320
Rector's Web Site: www.liberalcatholic.com
Email: info@stfrancisvillapark.org
Click here for Directions(pdf)
Click here to view and printout our 2008 Church Calendar(pdf)
Our Heritage
The Liberal Catholic Church’s founding Bishops transformed a nearly insignificant Old Catholic movement in England into a renewed visionary Church, proclaiming the Gospel in a new light with great power. It was a revolutionary church built upon the foundation of:
- FREEDOM OF THOUGHT AND BELIEF
- FREE INTERPRETATION OF CREED AND SCRIPTURE
- COMMUNION OPEN TO ALL WHO APPROACH THE ALTAR WITH REVERENCE
- UNCONDITIONAL LOVE AND RESPECT FOR THE DIVINE LIGHT IN EACH PERSON
Our church holds that every person is a child of God, related and inseparably linked to one another. That which harms one harms all.
This web site is dedicated to those founding Bishops and also to those who are now lighting new spiritual pathways for humanity.
Autumn 2008: Science and Spirituality
Sunday Adult educational programs at 11:45 AM
Special Guest speaker Rt. Rev. Ruben Cabigting will lead a presentation on the scientific aspects of theosophy and the constitution of humanity.
August 31:The Origin and Transformation of Humanity
Charles and Ann Bermingham will do a series of classes/lectures on how humanity views the universe, past and present, and how those views affect our spiritual evolution.
Humanity’s Challenge: Moving from Unknowing to the State of Knowing
- September 28: THUNDERBOLTS: ZEUS, MOSES AND INDRA
- October 26: THE CONSCIOUS UNIVERSE: PERIODIC PLANETARY EXTINCTIONS
- November 23: MARSHAL MCLUHAN AND THE AGE OF AQUARIUS
As a planetary whole, how do we cope with calamities? How can we find the way to becoming an advanced civilization?
Presiding Bishop and Vicar General Visit St. Francis
From the left: Rev. James Ascarreggi, Crozier Bearer Tiffany Jones, Presiding Bishop Graham Wale, Bishop Christian Schoch, Deaconess Julie Hamilton and Rev. Thomas Miller from St. Gabriel and All Angels.
Over the July Fourth weekend, St. Francis had the opportunity to welcome the Most Rev. Graham S. Wale, Presiding Bishop of The Liberal Catholic Church, and the Right Rev. Christian R. Schoch, Episcopal Vicar General of the Church. After visiting the churches at Ojai (CA), Rio Rancho (NM), their last stop was St. Francis, in Villa Park. The Most Rev. Graham Wale lives in West Sussex of the U.K., while Bishop Christian R. Schoch makes his home in France.
During their four day stay, the bishops resided at the Olcott campus, the center of the Theosophical Society in America, with retired Bishop Ruben Cabigting as their host. The bishops participated in social contacts with the clergy and congregation, starting with afternoon tea at Rev. T. Metz’s home, a visit to a Fourth of July festival in Lombard, Illinois, a two-hour meeting to answer questions from the congregation and two dinners at private restaurants in the area.
On Saturday, July 5, the bishops celebrated the 10 am Holy Eucharist with the following taking place during the service.
- First Communion: Saul Berrum
- Confirmations: Tiffany Jones, Georgia Metz, Ali and Vicki Fitzmaurice,
- Saul, Laura, and Tomas Berrum, Josafat Alcala,
- Minor Ordinations: Daniel J. Provost to Exorcist and Acolyte.
Saturday evening, we were delighted by a demonstration by the Sanctissima Circle of Sophia from St. Gabriel and All Angels, Fairfield, Iowa. Their 8 pm service invoked the wisdom of the Divine Feminine and brought a peaceful end to a busy day.
At the Sunday, July 6, 10 am Holy Eucharist, Daniel J. Provost was ordained to the level of Sub-Deacon.
We thank Bishop Wale and Bishop Schoch for traveling so far to give their blessing to St. Francis and all who worship there. Their presence gave the clergy and congregation the chance to come together and participate in something that is larger than the individual self. It is in those rare times where we temporarily take away our attention from our regular routine and immerse ourselves in the Power of the Source, God, our Father, the ever flowing Love of Christ and the shining Light of the Holy Spirit.
Palm Sunday 2008
Celebrant Rev T-Metz is surrounded at the altar by Rev. Jeffrey Forth, Deaconess Julie Hamilton, Dillan James Jones, Tiffany Leah Jones, Kiefer Daniel Provost, Lucas Ryan Jones, Daniel Joseph Provost (Doorkeeper) and Rev. James Ascareggi.
In September, 2007, the Regionary Bishop William Downey visted the church, performing confirmations and an ordination. Read about Bishop Downey in the Daily Herald article online
Altar dressed in red for the special service on July 6, 2008.
