The Parish that Spoke Five Languages
Reverend Michael Rochford, who wrote the pamphlet for the 60th anniversary that contains most of the information here, also ended it with a quote that I found especially fitting. “No longer affluent and urbane, it has become a home, refuge, and helping hand to the immigrant and the poor. Its current mix of 1500 families of rich and poor, young and old, handicapped, black, white, red, Latin, and oriental peoples make its worshiping community unique in the city, if not in all the world. It is a microcosm of the eucharistic unity by Jesus, Himself when He prayed that ‘all men may be one’”. I think this quote perfectly encapsulates the community that is St. Thomas of Canterbury. Initially envisioned by Archbishop Mundelein and named after St. Thomas to call all those to sanctity. Slowly but surely over time, the demographics changed from a wealthy “American” community to a community that speaks over 5 languages and to me, a more accurate representation of what America should represent.
