Mundelein Seminary to honor Bishop Ronald Hicks
With the country slowly establishing a "new normal," Mundelein Seminary will host its 28th annual Celebration of Mundelein with both a small, in-person gathering on the University of Saint Mary of the Lake campus on Friday, July 9, and an expanded online broadcast Thursday, July 22.
The in-person event for sponsors and Mundelein Seminary donors will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. July 9. It will feature Mass, a reception and the presentation of the Joseph Cardinal Bernardin "As Those Who Serve Award" to Most Reverend Ronald A. Hicks, the bishop of Joliet and a 1994 alumnus of Mundelein Seminary.
The online presentation is complimentary and will stream on the seminary website and social media outlets at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 22. The broadcast will include a recording of the award presentation, as well as stories from the seminary, interviews with seminarians and alumni priests, musical performances from the seminarian community and more.
Anyone can purchase a sponsorship to attend the live event or register to receive a link to watch the virtual event for free by visiting www.usml.edu/celebration.
"We are blessed to have the opportunity to once again gather in person after a long year of exclusively virtual events," said the Rev. John Kartje, rector of Mundelein Seminary.
"It is particularly fitting that we are honoring Bishop Hicks, a humble leader who has shown a keen ability to bring people together throughout his wide range of ministerial assignments as priest and bishop."
A native of Harvey, Bishop Hicks was ordained to the priesthood in 1994 and has earned both Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees from the University of Saint Mary of the Lake. His priestly ministry has included several years of service as an associate pastor in Chicago area parishes, dean of formation at Saint Joseph College Seminary, dean of formation at Mundelein Seminary and five years working in El Salvador as the regional director of Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos, a home that cares for orphaned and abandoned children throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.
Bishop Hicks was appointed vicar general of the Archdiocese of Chicago in 2015 and was ordained an auxiliary bishop in 2018. He was installed as the sixth bishop of the Diocese of Joliet in 2020.
Mundelein Seminary, located on the campus of the University of Saint Mary of the Lake, is the major seminary and graduate school of theology for the formation of priests in the Archdiocese of Chicago.
Led by Cardinal Blase J. Cupich as chancellor and Father Kartje as rector, Mundelein Seminary educates more than 100 seminarians from nearly 30 dioceses across the country and around the world.
USML is the oldest university in the Chicago area and is composed of six schools and institutes, all devoted to ministry formation. The university serves approximately 1,000 students through its degree and certificate programs. Its Conference Center serves 35,000 clients a year.