Coalition appealing to Pope Leo to save St. Hubert School in Hoffman Estates from closing

A group of parents at St. Hubert Catholic School in Hoffman Estates are praying a native Chicagoan will understand what it means to be on a mission from God to save a beloved church-run institution.

The parents are asking Pope Leo XIV — as well as their local pastor — to reconsider closing the 65-year-old school.

The Archdiocese of Chicago formally waived its own direct intervention this week.

A 30-day period known under Catholic canon law as a remonstratio ended Monday, which came at the request of St. Hubert supporters for Chicago Archdiocese Cardinal Blase Cupich to reconsider closure.

Archdiocese officials said they received the parents’ request and rejected it.

Parent Jillian Bernas Garcia said the next step in canon law allows them to appeal to the pope if a cardinal rejects or remains silent on a request.

Unlike Cupich, Pope Leo has an open-ended time frame to make a decision under the remonstratio process.

Meanwhile, the Archdiocese directed the group to reengage with school administrators, including Pastor Tomy Abraham.

One alumnus involved with the effort to save the school has a background in restructuring organizations and sees the coalition’s goals as viable, Bernas Garcia said.

“We have professionals telling us this is a manageable situation,” she added. “I would like to think these individuals would want Catholic education to succeed.”

Bernas Garcia is hoping to hear something positive by the end of this month’s spring break in order for the school to adequately prepare for a new academic year in August.

In January, the Archdiocese’s Superintendent of Schools Greg Richmond said in a written statement the decision to close St. Hubert was made in conjunction with those for Our Lady of Humility in Beach Park and four others in Chicago.

“We made these decisions with heavy hearts after months of discussions with each school,” he wrote. “We know the importance of these schools in each community. Unfortunately, the enrollment of each school is too low, and the ongoing deficits are too high.”

The January decision followed about a year and a half in which parents worked on their own to reach a financial goal without being allowed to reach out to fellow parishioners, Bernas Garcia said.

But school families achieved 93% of the annual fundraising goal of $302,5000 by collecting $282,000. This came amid a decision to eliminate tuition discounts for low-income families that caused enrollment to drop, she added.

Since the decision to close, a young graduate named Michael Kennedy set up a GoFundMe online fundraiser for the school. As of Tuesday, the campaign had raised $20,731 toward a new $500,000 goal.