St. Theresa holds water drive for Little Sisters of the Poor home

About 110 cars drove in as the Palatine Knights of Columbus hosted a water bottle collection Saturday at the St. Theresa Catholic Church parking lot for the St. Joseph's Home for the Elderly operated by the Little Sisters of the Poor in Palatine.

In the end, the donors provided 55 cases of bottled water and more than $11,500.

"We needed drinking water for our elderly residents," said Mother Margaret Charles, in charge of St. Joseph's Home. "That need was met with promptitude and kindness by our local Knights of Columbus."

"I am so proud of our council and the generosity of our men and their families," said the Rev. Tom Rzepiela, pastor emeritus of St. Thomas of Villanova Church in Palatine.

Grand Knight Bob Novak said the organization needed to go from fear during the COVID-19 pandemic to action.

"Regrettably, many of the charitable activities the Knights had planned had to be canceled," Novak said. "It occurred to me that our members were no longer focused on the most important principle of our order - charity."

In searching for ways to re-energize the Knights, a few ideas were dismissed as too risky, but members learned that the Illinois Department of Health had recently imposed a restriction that prevented elderly residents from receiving water from a pitcher, leading to the water drive.

"We are in awe of how fast they have acted and the number of bottles we have for residents," said Mother Provincial Maria Christine, who heads the order's province that extends from Chicago to the West Coast. "With a house of nearly 90 elderly persons, water goes quickly, even more so when we are all trying to keep everyone healthy."