Our Lady of Ransom Church

Information may not be reliable

Welcome to Our Lady of Ransom, a Roman Catholic Church located in Niles, Illinois. We welcome the residents of Des Plaines, Glenview, Niles and Park Ridge to share in our spiritual Catholic family. We provide a Religious Education Program to the community.
It is our hope that you will find Our Lady of Ransom parish to be a community of hospitable people who welcome others with open arms and strive to build a community of faith and service to God's people.
Our Lady of Ransom parish was established in 1960 and over the years has continued to grow into a relatively large community of faith, currently comprised of 2,400 families. It is our desire that the WELCOME we extend to you through this website will instill in you a warm invitation to become an active member of our parish family.
Our parish community comprises people of many ages, coming from many backgrounds, and a diverse cultural and ethnic heritage. Yet our common bond is our strong faith in the Lord Jesus and our desire to be one as His Church, with a commitment to being of service to all God's people.
The following internet pages will acquaint you with many of our ministries and organizations, which are open to everyone, and we wish to extend an invitation and offer a word of encouragement for people to participate. We especially believe strongly that our common point of unity is celebrated each week as we gather to worship around the Lord's table. It is our hope that your experience here in viewing our home page will nourish the gift of your faith.
May we together celebrate the gift of our lives and strive to build the Lord's kingdom here on earth.

We, the people of Our Lady of Ransom, are a Catholic Faith Community enriched by our diverse cultural heritages. Through prayer, liturgy, and sacraments we find guidance in God our Father to share our individual gifts as stewards of His creation.
By focusing on Jesus and His Good News, we grow in wisdom and knowledge, and rise to meet the challenges of Christian virtues in all aspects of our life.
The Holy Spirit empowers and inspires us to build God's kingdom on earth by fearlessly reaching out to others in need.

Our Lady of Ransom Parish was founded in 1960 when Rev. Theodore Paluch was asked to establish a new parish in the rapidly growing area of East Maine Township. On August 14,1960, Father Paluch celebrated the first Mass for the new parish, which was then known as Our Lady of Ransom in Ballard School in Niles. The first Mass was celebrated in the present church building on July 29, 1962. That same Fall, the school opened under the direction of the Felician Sisters. A junior high building was added to the school for the 1965-66 school year. Father Paluch served as pastor until his retirement in 1979. He remained an active part of OLR as Pastor Emeritus until his death in 1991. Many of the organizations and ministries which flourish today began under his guidance.
In 1979, Rev. John Boreczky became the second Pastor. Under his direction, OLR was renovated in 1980. Father Boreczky resigned in 1981 and served in other parish work. He died in the fall of 2000.
Rev. Thomas Dore was appointed OLR's third pastor on January 29, 1982. During his tenure, the parish embarked on a Stewardship program, founded the Parish Pastoral Council, built a new residence for the sisters, and converted the original convent into the parish ministry center. Father Dore left OLR in late 1994 to accept the position of pastor at St. Giles Parish in Oak Park, Illinois.
Our fourth pastor was Rev. John R. Hall, who was appointed on March 26, 1995. Before coming to OLR, Father Hall was assigned to Holy Name Cathedral, Chicago, and served as director of special events held at the Holy Name Cathedral, and as one of Cardinal Bernardin's masters of ceremonies.
Under Father Hall's leadership, the parish further developed the Parish Pastoral Council, enhanced the stewardship program, and spearheaded several major renovation projects on parish buildings, the most salient project being the "Renew the Pride" initiative, done in conjunction with the Millennium Campaign of the Archdiocese of Chicago. At $3,600,000 this is the biggest capital improvement undertaken in the history of the parish.
Due to declining enrollment and changing area demographics, the school was closed in June of 2004. In response to the school closing, Fr. Hall appointed a team of parishioners to determine the fate of the school building and the convent. As a result of their recommendations, two things were done. First, the priests of OLR moved into the convent as their new Rectory, and sold the prior rectory building. Second, rooms in the junior high wing of the school building were leased to a tenant. To maintain the long standing tradition of using this building to serve the children of the community, the lessee chosen was "A Mother's Touch" day care center. As a Parish, Our Lady of Ransom continues to foster and develop its commitment to serving the community.
On Sunday February 4, 2007 Fr. Hall announced that he was being transferred to St. John of the Cross in Western Springs to be their pastor. This change was to take place mid-summer of 2007. But Fr. Hall never left Our Lady of Ransom. On Saturday February 10, 2007 God called Fr. John to be at his side. Fr. John died of a heart attack mid-morning, after offering a 10 AM funeral mass and before the Confirmation mass scheduled for the early afternoon. He was waked in and buried from the Church that he renovated. Cardinal George concelebrated the funeral mass with nine bishops and one hundred and seventeen priests, all friends of Fr. John.
The Associate Pastor, Fr. Chris Gustafson, kept the parish functioning at this terrible time. He missed and mourned the loss of Fr. John perhaps more than anyone, but not only did he keep his grief under control, but he taught the parishioners the true meaning of mourning, and how to mourn while continuing to move ahead with their lives. He was named Parish Administrator by Cardinal George. In this position he walked a very thin line, continuing to keep the still mourning parish moving ahead in a path both consistent with Fr. John's works and the new decisions he now needed to make. At a "Town Hall" meeting convened by the Archdiocese, the attending parishioners strongly voiced their opinion that Fr. Chris should "take over the reigns" from Fr. John. Finally, in a letter dated June 27, 2007, Cardinal George named Rev. Christopher Gustafson as the fifth Pastor of OLR. He was installed at the 5:00 pm mass on September 8, 2007 by Bishop Kane.
Fr. Chris grew up on the South Side, the fifth of six children. He attended St. Margaret of Scotland and St. Germaine elementary schools. He graduated from Marist High School in 1980 and from the University of Notre Dame in 1984. He went on to law school at Chicago Kent College of Law, was admitted to the Bar, and practiced trial and litigation law with the firm of Phelan, Pope and John, Ltd. before entering Mundelein Seminary.
He was ordained a priest on May 20, 1995. His first assignment was to Sacred Heart Parish in Winnetka where he served first as Deacon and then as Associate Pastor while he continued post-ordination studies in sacred theology at the University of St. Mary of the Lake. From there he went on to serve as Associate at St. Christina in Chicago, St. Mary in Lake Forest, and finally at Our Lady of Ransom.

This is the Story of our Patroness, Our Lady of Ransom. In the thirteenth century A.D., the Blessed Virgin appeared in separate visions to St. Peter Nolasco, St Raymond of Penafort and King James I of Aragon. She asked these men to establish an order for ransoming enslaved Christians from the Moors. Under Mary's special protection, the order grew rapidly. St. Peter, St. Raymond, and King James devoted themselves not only to collecting alms for the ransom of Christian captives, but also by giving themselves up to voluntary slavery to free others. The feast of Our Lady of Ransom is celebrated on September 24, and was instituted in 1696 AD. With this history as inspiration, Our Lady of Ransom Parish takes pride in its service to others. As each parishioner journeys toward individual fulfillment, we are here for each other to provide prayerful guidance and support.