Fr. John Horan

Pastor

Praised be Jesus Christ – Now and forever!

I am very excited to be here and to serve you as your parish pastor in the name of God and on behalf of Bishop Ronald Hicks. I know that I have a lot to learn as I get to know you (all of you – the best I can!) and discover the love and responsibility of being your shepherd for Christ the Good Shepherd. Let’s keep each other in prayer.

Here is a little information about me: I grew up close by in Naperville (just off Plainfield-Naperville Rd, in fact). My family attended St. Raphael Catholic Church, and I graduated from Waubonsie Valley High School and then the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana with a major in Spanish.

My family has been an essential support in my life, and my vocation to the priesthood was nurtured in their love and generosity. My parents (Ray and Kay) still live in Naperville, and my sister (Laura) now lives in Germany. I felt called to discern a call to priesthood in my final year at college. For me, I was excited about the opportunity to share Jesus’ love and mercy through the sacraments.

I started seminary in 2012 and was ordained as a priest in May of 2018. Some of the parishes where I served during seminary years were St. Mary in West Chicago, St. Alexander in Villa Park, and St. Andrew in Romeoville. I learned a lot from each community and continued to see God leading me to a life of service and prayer as a priest.

After priestly ordination, I was blessed to spend seven years in Kankakee at St. John Paul II Parish. From 2018-2021, I served as a parochial vicar at St. John Paul II while also offering Spanish Mass and ministry at Immaculate Conception Parish in Gilman. From 2021-2025, I was a full-time high school religion teacher while also serving as chaplain at Bishop McNamara Catholic School in Kankakee (and continuing to help with Masses at St. John Paul II Parish).

I have heard very good things about the life of faith and the good work for God’s kingdom at St. Mary Immaculate Parish. Let’s give thanks to God for the service and care of Fr. Pat Mulcahy and Fr. John Regan, and let’s pray for them on their next steps. As Fr. Ternan and I join Fr. James as your parish priests, please keep us in prayer as we will be praying for you!

Yours in Christ,

Fr. John Horan

Fr. James Guarascio

Parochial Vicar

I’ll introduce myself the same way Pope Francis did, “I am a sinner whom the Lord has looked upon with mercy.” I grew up an everyday cradle Catholic in Naperville, the son of a CPA and a saint whom I call my mother. I have three older brothers who are twelve, nine, and five years older than me, each pursuing careers in business, medicine, and engineering respectively. All three are happily married and I was blessed to be the priest celebrant for two of them! (I wasn’t a priest yet for the other one) Though they all went to Benet for high school, I was the only son to attend Catholic grade school as well. While I was there at Ss. Peter and Paul grade school (also my home parish) I heard the call to the priesthood. By 8 th grade, I was convinced the Lord was asking me to follow this call, so I entered seminary immediately after attending Benet Academy for high school.

During my eight years in seminary, I was blessed to not only learn so much about Our Lord and our faith, but also to come to know Our Lord Himself. I will forever be grateful for the innumerable experiences, programs, and classes that I went through which equipped me so well for the priesthood.

I spent the first three years of my priesthood at Our Lady of Mercy in Aurora, where I discovered how much I really do love being a priest. While I was there I hosted “Ask Me Anything” sessions, heard confessions at DuPage County Jail, became the chaplain for Waterleaf Women’s Center, led the Fit Shepherds men’s ministry, took on the Unbound prayer ministry for the diocese, hosted a weekly Monday Spanish Mass, ran the OCIA (otherwise known as the RCIA), as well as all kinds of other great stuff! I’m sure you’ll find out relatively quickly that I love to learn and to teach. In fact, after being forced to major in philosophy in college seminary, I discovered that I actually loved it! So please, don’t hesitate to ask me any faith-related questions!

Additionally, I am a member of the recently established Companions of Christ priestly association in our Diocese. You may have heard about this association via the old Christ Is Our Hope magazine, or via the podcast “Catholic Stuff You Should Know,” since the podcast’s hosts were all Companions of Christ in Denver. We seek to live our diocesan priesthood by following the evangelical counsels, a rule of life, and a commitment to priestly fraternity and support. You can learn more about us at companionsofchristjoliet.org!

Besides that, I enjoy craft beer, exercise, playing volleyball, and visiting parishioners’ houses for meals! Please don’t hesitate to reach out so I can visit and get to know you better! Please keep me in your prayers as I will be praying for you!

In Christ,

Fr. James Guarascio