Kelly Florek, operations director at St. Barnabas Parish, said there was not a dry eye in the room when the Rev. Jim Donovan broke down on the altar a few times, announcing he was ordered to leave the parish on South Longwood Drive in Beverly.
But what made it harder, Florek said, was that neither he nor the church was involved in the decision.
She said in her 14 years of experience with the Chicago Archdiocese, there were usually months of discussion that involve the church and pastor, but this order was sudden.
What’s more, Florek said Donovan had five years left until his retirement, and he had just helped lead a major restoration project for the 100th anniversary of the church.
“Everybody just assumed he was here until retirement,” she said. “It just came as kind of a bit of a shock, and it’s kind of been like almost a grieving process for the parish. I think people are going to take a while to trust the system again.”
Donovan said he received a call March 17 from Cardinal Blase Cupich, ordering him to transfer to St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Orland Park.
“The worst day of a priest’s life is when he moves,” he said. “You’ve been with them through many many life events, good events, great events, the joys and sorrows of the parish and people’s lives.”
The Rev. Homero Sanchez was chosen to co-pastor both St. Barnabas and Christ the King parishes beginning June 30, which marks the end of the church’s fiscal year, when most new assignments start, Florek said.
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Donovan said the changes are a part of a larger struggle to manage a priest shortage.
“That’s the challenge of serving the church during a priest shortage,” he said. “I think that’s the challenge of it. How do you manage these different parishes?”
He said he was told the St. Francis parish needed an experienced pastor because their pastor was leaving, and that the cardinal thought he would do well at the church.
As someone who previously served on the priest placement team, Donovan said these direct appointments, while rare, occasionally occur due to a low number of priests in the area, especially when a parish needs a good leader and a priest nearby is doing well.
“It’s kind of like if you needed a good person and none of the other candidates were that level, you just don’t want to be satisfied, so it’s really about the best candidates,” he said.
Florek said she also witnessed a shortage of priests in the U.S. and Chicago area. She said priests are aging out, retiring or dying, and fewer younger people are becoming priests, especially given sexual scandals in recent decades, she said.
As a result, she said Catholics are more spread out, and there are fewer priests to supply the area.
In an effort to address this and revitalize churches in the area, the Chicago Archdiocese launched the Renew My Church initiative in 2016, which combined or closed churches in waves, she said.
Florek said she worked at a few churches that were combined during that time. But four churches on Chicago’s South Side — Christ the King, St. Barnabas, St. Cajetan and St. John Fischer — were doing so well fiscally and attendance-wise, the churches were told to collaborate and remain independent instead of merging, she said.
This collaboration of churches became known as the South Side Parish Renewal about four years ago, under which the churches communicate ministry activities, coordinate events, facilitate new ministry opportunities, celebrate community and foster connections, according to the group’s website.
Florek and Donovan both said they thought Donovan would eventually pastor all four churches, “but life changed,” said Donovan.
Sanchez will now co-pastor two of the churches, St. Barnabas and Christ the King, but the churches will continue to operate independently.
Sanchez said this means the churches will still have independent budgets and finances, their own identity and independent personnel. The only thing changing, he said, is they will share ministerial personnel.
But Sanchez said he hopes the churches could collaborate more.
“There is this amazing collaboration with the four parishes in the area,” he said. “They are sharing prayer, they are sharing community building, they are sharing services, they are sharing journey. The hope is that we’re going to be collaborating with this group a little more.”
Sanchez also said he would not co-pastor alone. He said he is bringing two people with him to help with administration and other needs, which he said is part of his identity as an Augustinian priest.
“I live with my brothers in community,” he said. “I pray with them, I fight with them, and I reconcile with them as well. We walk with a goal of meeting Jesus, like everyone else, but I’m not walking alone.”
Sanchez will be the first Augustinian priest at St. Barnabas, Florek said.
Sanchez, originally from Mexico, was a pastor at St. Rita of Cascia Catholic Parish for 10 years. The church was combined with St. Clare of Montefalco Parish in 2020, after which he served as a co-pastor.
Sanchez also worked as an administrator at St Jude Catholic Church in South Holland, which through mergers has become Christ Our Savior Catholic Church, and the de facto home church of Pope Leo XIV.
Florek said the transition will be culture shock because Donovan knew every person’s name in the community and was extremely involved, but she said Sanchez appears to be very nice and friendly, and the church is working to welcome him.
Sanchez said he is sorry the St. Barnabas congregation was hurt by the transition of their pastor and said he is sad to leave his own community. He said he plans to learn how to serve the new community best and be available for them at all hours of the day.
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“There is nothing I can say to heal their wounds, and I’m not going to replace their pastor,” he said. “I’m going to come as myself and bring who I am. I’m going to try and make it up to them.”
Donovan said it will be hard to transition from knowing everyone in the community to standing in a “church full of strangers.”
“But they won’t be strangers for long,” he said.
“I was a stranger from the North Side, and I’m leaving St. Barnabas as a good friend,” he said. “I became part of the community, and you don’t leave them, I mean you might move, but they are still part of your life.”