LETTER FROM THE PASTOR
In April 2018, I announced the launch of the capital campaign, Your Parish, Your Home. The purpose of the campaign was to raise the necessary funds to provide barrier-free access to the church, Wallace Hall, the Parish House, and the grammar school, and to install or enhance fire safety systems in these environments. The goal of the three-year capital campaign was set at $7.5 million, an ambitious goal with an equally ambitious timeline. Well, we did it! I am pleased to report that, as of April 2021, more than 900 individuals and families have contributed $8.2 million in support of the capital campaign.
Anticipating a successful campaign from its outset, construction projects began in the summer of 2018 and were paid in full at the conclusion of each project. Those projects include:
- The installation of a sprinkler system in McKinnon Hall. [The sprinkler system throughout the grammar school is now complete.]
- An award-winning access ramp into the Parish House.
- The design and fabrication of the Kelly Loggia at the entrance to Wallace Hall.
- Electronic message boards on the façade of the church.
- A handicapped-accessible bathroom on the floor level of Wallace Hall.
- An electronic fire alarm system in the interior of the church.
- An electronic fire alarm and sprinkler system in Wallace Hall.
- A new entryway and renovation of the Lady Chapel.
- An addition to the 84thStreet side of the church that houses an elevator providing access to the floor level of Wallace Hall and to a level platform leading to the side door of the church.
- An electronic opening mechanism of the 84th Street interior bronze door of the church. [To be completed, Summer 2021]
- An access ramp into the grammar school. [Projected for installation in 2021-2022.]
- Fire safety systems in the Parish House. [Projected for 2022.]
The successful completion of the capital campaign is an occasion of thanksgiving to God. It is also the result of the hard work of a dedicated team of parishioners. We are truly indebted to the Capital Campaign Committee, co-chaired by Patti and David Hogan, and to Erin Pick, Director of Development, who capably handled the administrative organization of our fund-raising efforts. I also take this opportunity to express our gratitude to the team that designed and guided our construction projects, most especially Mick Doyle and Lou Martino of Acheson Doyle Architects, and the entire crew of the Fazio Construction Group. The projects that are listed were made possible because of your generosity. I am grateful to each one of you for your continued commitment to your parish, your home. Thank you for your wholehearted and generous response to our capital campaign.
This significant milestone in the life of the parish coincides with the beginning of the Ignatian Year when we celebrate the 500th anniversary of St. Ignatius’s conversion in 1521. Inspired by his life, we are invited in this anniversary year “to see all things new in Christ.” As we emerge from the dark tunnel of the pandemic, let us rejoice in the eternal newness of God’s care for us and celebrate together as the renewed Church of St. Ignatius Loyola. May all that we do in new, bold ways be for the greater glory of God.
– Rev. Dennis J. Yesalonia, S.J., Pastor
