July 29, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Major
family gift helps diocese establish new parish in Kane
,
SUGAR
GROVE—The Diocese of Rockford has another special reason to remember its
Centennial Year of 2008.
Thanks to a major gift from the families of local
businessmen Anthony, Jerry and Keith Rich, a new Catholic parish will be
established beginning with construction of a chapel on land they donated in
Sugar Grove.
It
will be the first new parish established in the Rockford Diocese since Church of
Holy Apostles, McHenry, was founded in 1989.
The
Rich family announced July 29, 2008, that they have given to the Rockford
Diocese, a combination of 20 acres of land and a gift of negotiable securities
together worth about $5 million. The purpose
of the gift is to establish a new parish in Sugar Grove, an area of the
11-county diocese which diocesan planners and researchers projected as a future
parish site as far back as 1987. That realization was part of long range
planning strategies conducted in preparation to serve the future needs of the
Catholic people of Northern Illinois.
The
land, located between Dugan and Prairie Roads will become home first to a new
chapel and later as needed, will be expanded to a larger parish church.
The
new chapel will be named to honor St. Katharine Drexel in memory of the late
Katherine Rich. The property for the new parish was originally part of Rich
Harvest Farms, a parcel of approximately 1,800 acres which is also home to a
private 18-hole golf course which Jerry Rich designed. The course is host to the
Kids Golf Foundation, an organization begun by the Rich family to help inner
city kids to learn life skills. It is also the home course for the Northern
Illinois University men and women’s golf teams. Rich Harvest Farms will also
host the 2009 Solheim Cup, one of the largest LPGA tournaments in the world.
“We
are pleased to make this family gift to the Rockford Diocese. My father Anthony
and I feel strongly about the kind of community Sugar Grove should continue to
be. To establish a new Catholic parish here will help to serve as a firm
foundation for common interests of family, community and values,” said Jerry
Rich.
“We
feel very privileged to provide the home for the new church,” said Rich.
“Our family was very fortunate in business where we all shared in the work. As
a result we are able to share in giving something back to the larger community.
We believe very much in strong families and because of that, we hope this new
church will be more than a place for families in Sugar Grove to gather and grow,
but a place of worship to share with families from neighboring communities as
well,” he said.
The
Rich family began Rich Incorporated, a company that first developed the Rich
Operating System for microprocessors and which eventually took the technology to
Wall Street introducing the first integrated computer terminal there.
“We
are very proud to be one of the founding families of the new parish and hope
other families will join us in building the future,” he added.
“We
are extremely grateful to the entire Rich family for their gift and vision for
the future,” said Most Reverend Thomas G. Doran, Bishop of the Rockford
Diocese. “Their generous gift will help fulfill the long-range plan to serve
the spiritual and corporal needs of our Catholic people as identified by this
diocese more than two decades ago,” the bishop added.
“It
is especially poignant that this gift was made in the 100th anniversary year of
our diocese when we take time to celebrate all the sacrifices made by our
ancestors in building the church of today,” Bishop Doran said.
“We
are grateful to God that gifts like these help us continue that legacy for
future generations of Catholics, he said.”
According
to the Director of Research and Planning for the Rockford Diocese, Dr. Michael
Cieslak, the area of Sugar Grove located in rural Kane County, has experienced
considerable growth in the last 30 years and all estimates indicate the eventual
population there will be at least 60,000 people. Dr. Cieslak said the needs of
this area were first identified by the Diocese’s Aurora Area Parish Planning
Project in 1987. Diocesan research estimates that there are currently 700
Catholic families living within the area the new parish would serve.
Msgr.
David Kagan, moderator of the Curia and Vicar General, has been working closely
with Cieslak and Greg Urban, diocesan director of the Catholic Foundation who
helped accept and secure the gift.
Preliminary
preparation of the proposed building site has been completed. After the site has
met all city and county zoning requirements, the diocese projects to break
ground for the new chapel this fall, after Bishop Doran appoints a pastor to
further direct its establishment.
Currently there are 105 parishes in the Rockford Diocese. There are 24 parishes located in Kane County, serving over 39,000 registered Catholic families.