Minister of Care Training – Sep 29 and Oct 6, 13
Minister of Care Training sponsored by Vicariate V Ministry Commission – Tuesdays, September 29 and October 6, 13, 2026, from 9:15 AM to 11:30 AM at St. Francis of Assisi Parish (Great Room, use Church Entrance), located at 15050 S. Wolf Road in Orland Park, IL 60467 – 708-460-0042
Participation in these 3 sessions meets the Office for Divine Worship, Archdiocese of Chicago, requirements to be eligible for mandating as a parish Minister of Care, ministering to the sick and homebound members of the parish.
Participants must be approved and sent by a member of their parish Pastoral Team. The sessions will include such topics as spirituality of ministry, ministry to the aged, the experience of suffering, dying and death, pastoral listening skills, prayer and Eucharist, and the theological and practical dimensions of ministry. This seminar provides fresh theology and insights into the pastoral practice of the Ministry of Care.
Our presenters are Sr. Gael Gensler, who is presently the Pastoral Associate at St. Francis of Assisi Parish. She has been involved in parish ministry for over twenty-five years. She currently coordinates the Ministry of Care for the parish with Barbara Basila, who is the Parish Coordinator of Ministry of Care for 9 years and a minister for 20 years.
Commissioner – Sr. Gael Gensler – ggensler@sfaorland.org
Minister of Care Training Registration
Minister of Care Training – November 13-14
A Minister of Care visits the homebound and those who are unable to attend Mass to bring them the Eucharist. This allows the faithful to remain connected to the parish when they cannot physically join them for the Sunday Liturgy. Those who feel called to this ministry should seek approval from a parish priest or a member of their pastoral team to participate in this training.
Minister of Care Training sponsored by Vicariate V Ministry Commission – Friday, November 13 from 6 PM to 9 PM and Saturday, November 14 from 9:30 AM to 4 PM at St. Paul VI Parish at St. Hugh Faith Formation Center, Menarik Hall, located at 2400 S. 10th Avenue in North Riverside, IL 60546.
Participation in both of these sessions meets the mandated requirements of the Office for Divine Worship of the Archdiocese of Chicago for those who wish to become Ministers of Care. Upon completion of the training, participants will be certified as Ministers of Care for their parish.
For more information, please get in touch with Commissioner Elizabeth Kos at ebkos@archchicago.org
Minister of Care Training Registration
About our Ministry of Care
Ministers of Care attend a training that enables them to bring Communion to those who are homebound, hospitalized or in Nursing Homes. If you or someone you love or know would like Communion brought to them, please call the parish office at 708-349-0903, and we will invite a Communion visitor to bring Communion to the person’s home on a regular basis.
If you are hospitalized, and you let us know, we will visit you or your loved one in the hospital. With the HIPPA laws the hospital cannot tell us if parishioners are there.
Ministers of Care love the opportunity to visit, to pray with, and bring Communion to anyone who is homebound and would like to receive Jesus in the Eucharist.