Baptism at St. Mary Immaculate

Please call the Parish Office at 815-436-2651 to begin the process of having a baptism at St. Mary Immaculate. You will need to complete 3 steps before your child can be baptized:

1. Register as a Parishioner
2. Register for a Baptism Prep class
3. Schedule the Baptism

Register as a Parishioner

To have your child baptized at St. Mary Immaculate, you must be a member of the parish. If you are not a member of the parish, you must register. Please click here for registration information.

Please note: You must be a registered parishioner for SIX months prior to scheduling a Baptism or receiving a Sponsor/Godparent letter. 

English Baptisms are held on the 2^nd and 3^rd Sunday of the month and Spanish Baptisms are held on the 4th Sunday of the month.  Families are invited to attend 12:15 Mass, where pews will be reserved for each family.  Baptism will immediately follow Mass.  Those who are unable to attend Mass will need to arrive by 1:15 p.m.  Dates may change based on the liturgical calendar. 

Please contact Margaret O’Leary at the Parish Office, 815-436-2651 Ext. 803, for further details.

Additional registration and Baptism guidelines can be found below.

Register for a Baptism Prep Class

Once you have registered as a parishioner, call the Parish Office and sign up for a Baptism Prep Class. For the immediate future, we will be holding baptism classes via Zoom.

The future dates for these classes are:

Wednesday, January 22^nd
Tuesday, February 18^th
Monday, March 3^rd
Thursday, March 20^th
Tuesday, April 8^th
Wednesday, May 14^th
Tuesday, May 27^th
Monday, June 9^th
Thursday, June 26^th

All classes are held from 7:00-8:15pm.
There is a $25 fee to attend the class (non-refundable).

If you have attended a Baptism class at St. Mary’s within the last 3 years, this requirement is waived.

Schedule the Baptism

Once you have completed the Prep Class, call the Parish Office to schedule the baptism.

Godparents:

When a child or an adult is to be baptized, he or she must have at least one godparent. It is customary for children to have two godparents. When there are two, one must be male and the other female.

At Least One Godparent must:

(a) Be Catholic
(b) Have been baptized, confirmed and have received First Communion
(c) Be 16 or older
(d) Be an active*, registered member of a Roman Catholic parish

*Active means that they must be practicing the faith. In general, if a potential sponsor is not a member of the parish where the baptism is to take place, he or she must obtain a letter or certificate from their own parish which affirms that they meet the above requirements. Therefore, if the godparent is not a parishioner at St. Mary Immaculate, they should obtain a letter or certificate from the church where they are registered.

Role of the Godparent

The role of the godparent is to assist the parents and the child in living a Catholic life. In order to do so, the sponsor needs to provide good example of living that life. The role of godparent is a role of service done in the name of the Church, and the person who is a sponsor should be capable of performing that service.

However, if there is one godparent, the appointment of one ‘Christian witness’ to the baptism ceremony is allowed. This witness must be a baptized, practicing Christian.

Reconciliation at St. Mary Immaculate

We are currently offering the Sacrament of Reconciliation on Saturdays starting at 2:30pm until everyone in line has been heard. The line starts outside the Commons doors.

On March 26, 2023, we will be holding a “Confessionpalooza” where we begin Confessions after the 12:15 Mass and hear them until the line ends and there is no one left waiting to Confess.

English:

Saturdays: 2:30 p.m.

Other Times:

We hold Penance Services periodically throughout the year, particularly during Advent and Lent.  Please consult our Full Schedule for any services that fall outside of our normal Reconciliation times.  For a list of parishes in our area and their Reconciliation times, check the Diocese of Joliet list of parishes, and look for the schedules at other parishes.

Eucharist at St. Mary Immaculate

 The Eucharist is offered every day at St. Mary Immaculate through our daily and weekend Masses.  Please refer to the list of Mass times for our full schedule.

To pray in front of the Blessed Sacrament, join us in our Adoration Chapel!  Our Adoration Chapel entrance is located on the North Wing of our building, to the left of the church entrance.

Continuous exposition of the Most Blessed Sacrament occurs from after morning mass on Mondays (about 9:30 am) to Thursday at midnight.  Come visit Jesus when you have a moment or sign up for an hour of Adoration!

Interested in your child making their First Communion? Contact the Religious Education Office at 815.436.4501 for more information.

The Confirmation program consists of two years of preparation, generally in 7th and 8th grades. Classes happen Monday nights at 7:00 pm, coinciding with the regular school year. The Candidates receive the sacrament in the fall after completing the two years of preparation. Retreats, service opportunities, and catechetical development are provided by the Confirmation staff with the help of adult Mentors. Public School students meet with their Mentors for study and service; St. Mary’s School students receive religious instruction during school and meet with their Mentors to perform service projects.

Recognizing the importance of parents in the faith development of their children, and must attend sessions with their adolescent once a month in the Church.  Our goal is to support and inform parents so they can pass on the faith and answer their children’s questions.  Along with the commitment to attend these monthly sessions, each family must complete a prayer journal using meditations on the daily Gospel readings, perform two family service projects each year, and attend weekly Mass.

For more information on the Confirmation program, visit the Confirmation page. For information about Quinceañeras, please contact Adriana Perales in the Parish Office at 815-436-2651 x 800

Contact

Anna Taylor, Confirmation Director, 815-436-2861   ataylor@smip.org

Marriage at St. Mary Immaculate

Interested in getting married at St. Mary Immaculate?  The FIRST thing you should do is contact the Parish Office at 815-436-2651. Please call St. Mary Immaculate BEFORE you book a date with your reception venue or hotel as our date availability for weddings fills up quickly and we might not have the date you are looking for. 

Weddings must be scheduled at least SIX MONTHS in advance, according to Diocesan norms.  Weddings are typically not scheduled on Sundays, unless during a regular Sunday Mass.

Congratulations on your engagement! We look forward to celebrating the Sacrament of Holy
Matrimony with you. For your information, these are the fees and guidelines for Weddings
here at Saint Mary’s.

Parishioners

For parishioners who are registered, active, and contributing (either by financial support,
regular volunteer support, or both) for a minimum of six months.

$500.00 plus $250.00 deposit*

The deposit gets returned to the couple the week after the wedding if they are on time for the ceremony, and the church is left clean after the ceremony (no glitter from dresses or flower petals, etc.).

Non-parishioners

For those living outside the parish boundaries, or parishioners who have not been active and participating, or who have not registered in the parish.

If the couple lives outside the parish boundaries, they need to present a letter to the priest on the first meeting from the pastor of their church that they are registered there, and that the pastor gives us permission to celebrate their wedding. The pastor of Saint Mary Immaculate must also approve the wedding. In general, the couple must have some affiliation with Saint Mary Immaculate, for example the parents are parishioners. At least one of the couple must be a practicing Catholic.

$700.00 plus $250.00 deposit

*The deposit gets returned to the couple the week after the wedding if they are on time for the
ceremony, and the church is left clean after the ceremony (no glitter from dresses or flower
petals, etc.).

The deposit will not be refunded if the wedding is cancelled.

Music

Music for your Mass or Ceremony will be arranged between you and our Music Director. He
will advise the costs for that, based on the musicians you require. Please note that because this
is a religious ceremony, we do not use secular music; that would be most appropriate at your
reception.

When you call the office you will be asked to visit our website and complete the intake form if still interested:

Wedding Intake Form

Marriage Preparation

As a part of marriage preparation, you must complete the Marriage Prep Retreat through the parish or Engaged Encounter through the Diocese of Joliet.

The next workshop is listed below. To register for it, please click the link.

Marriage Prep Retreat

(THIS IS A SINGLE RETREAT OVER TWO DAYS):  

Join other engaged couples for two evenings of reflection and conversation around your call to the vocation of Marriage. This is a crucial part of your preparation for Marriage and you will leave the evenings feeling energized with a deeper understanding of the Sacrament.

Couples must attend both sessions. Materials will be provided.

February 29th & March 7th 7:00 to 9:30 pm

Future dates TBA.

Marriage Checklist

Make sure you have completed all of the marriage preparation steps that are listed on our checklist! This checklist is a detailed outline of everything you need before getting married.

If you have any questions, please contact the Parish Office at 815-436-2651

Vocations at St. Mary Immaculate

Do you feel a calling to the Priesthood, Diaconate, or Religious Life?

Have a question about vocations? If so, you should definitely talk with one of our parish priests. In addition, for questions about becoming a priest, you can contact Fr. Tom Borello, Vocational Director for the Diocese of Joliet at (815) 834-4004.

Click HERE to visit the Vocations Website for the Diocese of Joliet, where you can get information on Priesthood, Diaconate, as well as vocations to Religious Life for both men and women.

Anointing of the Sick at St. Mary Immaculate

For those who need the Anointing of the Sick, please contact the
Parish Office at 815.436.2651.

If you or your loved one is sick, having surgery, or needs the sacrament of anointing, they are welcome to come to our Healing Service, where those in attendance are anointed.  Healing Services are the first Sunday of the month at 1:30 pm in the Church, after the 12:15 pm Mass.

In case of a Pastoral Emergency during non-business hours, call the Parish at (815) 436-2651 then dial extension 881 and please leave a complete message.

 

R.C.I.A. (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults)

Do you have interest in becoming Catholic or learning more about our faith?

The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults is the sacramental process in which individuals enter into an extended period of formation in preparation to receive the Sacraments of Baptism, First Communion, and Confirmation.  The community ritually celebrates the conversion of these individuals at various points on the journey, culminating with the celebration of baptism, confirmation and Eucharist at the Easter Vigil.  Following the Easter Vigil, we help the newly initiated to live the commitment the made: lives of justice, service and charity as witnesses of the reign of God.

At St. Mary Immaculate, RCIA preparation occurs on an individualized, year round basis.  RCIA accepts the unbaptized, or those baptized in other Christian denominations seeking to be received into Full Communion with the Catholic Church.  Adults baptized Catholic and looking to receive the Sacraments of First Communion and/or Confirmation will go through a similar formation experience.  Therefore, there is no “start” time for RCIA and inquiries are welcome at all times of the year!

Please call 815-436-2651 for more information.