Vatican to hear appeal of St. Hubert Catholic School’s closure in Hoffman Estates

The Vatican has agreed to hear an appeal of the Archdiocese of Chicago’s plan to close St. Hubert Catholic School in Hoffman Estates, parents working to save the 65-year-old institution say.

The decision by Pope Leo XIV’s Vatican Dicastery for Culture and Education to hear the coalition’s formal Hierarchical Recourse arrived just after the last day of school.

The parents conceded there was no precedent to get a response to the appeal submitted in March any earlier. But the rare decision to consider the case arrived as quickly any ever has.

The coalition claims the independent financial analysis it commissioned demonstrated closing St. Hubert isn’t financially necessary. That report showed the school could regain positive cash flow through modest adjustments.

Parents were informed by their pastor the Archdiocese plans to close at least 25 more schools in the coming years, parent Angel Garcia said.

The Archdiocese denied those plans.

The parents are asking the Archdiocese to institute a three-year moratorium on school closures, create the position of Chief Revitalization Officer, establish a School Closure Review Board and reassign Chief Operating Officer Betsy Bohlen.

In a statement, the coalition criticized the Archdiocese’s corporate approach to education.

“Betsy Bohlen’s McKinsey background has brought a cookie-cutter, short-term profit mentality that is making quality Catholic education increasingly out of reach for working-class families,” the statement reads.

The Archdiocese released a statement of its own Thursday in response to the coalition’s information.

“We are aware that the Vatican received a petition on behalf of St. Hubert School,” the statement reads. “Questions on Vatican matters are best directed to the Vatican press office. The Office of Catholic Schools works closely with our schools to ensure they are vibrant places of faith and learning for all students.”

Garcia said the time it will take for the Dicastery to consider the case makes a 2026-27 school year unlikely for St. Hubert.

But with his own children only 4 and 6 years old, he sees a possible future for them at the school.

“I think my family’s ready to do the hard work to regrow St. Hubert’s,” Garcia said.

St. Hubert has been the only Catholic school option within the borders of Schaumburg Township Elementary District 54.