Fr. James' Letters

December 24, 2023

Dear Parishioners,

At our St. Nick’s party several weeks ago I was delighted not just by the large crowd and festive gathering, but by the local high schoolers providing music. There was a band as well as a little group of carolers. They were great. Thank you for this, students. Their music got me thinking about one of the lesser-sung Christmas carols, “I Saw Three Ships.”

Read more: December 24, 2023

December 17, 2023

Dear Parishioners,

I look forward to meeting Saint John the Baptist in heaven. He was a little bit loco, and I like it. I have a little bit of the loco in me as well (I think all priests do), and while I’ve worked to refine it over the years so as not to put too many people off, in heaven I look forward to unleashing it. Loco…crazy for Christ, that is. “Do not quench the Spirit,” says Saint Paul in our second reading today (1 Thessalonians 5:19). I think I’ll be in good company with many of the crazy saints.

Read more: December 17, 2023

December 10, 2023

Dear Parishioners,

I read something interesting a few weeks ago about John the Baptist’s gastronomic preferences. Mark says this about the Baptist: “John was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. He fed on locusts and wild honey.”

Read more: December 10, 2023

Who is Fr. James?

Father James Wallace grew up in Winnetka, Illinois and attended Sts. Faith Hope and Charity grammar school, New Trier High School, and then The George Washington University in Washington DC, where he earned his undergraduate degree in Political Science in 2007. He attended seminary at The Pontifical North American College in Rome and was ordained a priest in 2012 for the Archdiocese of Chicago. In addition to being the pastor of Saint Paul of the Cross Parish, he serves as a canon lawyer for the Archdiocese, a dean in Vicariate II, and a professor of canon law and spiritual director at Mundelein Seminary. He is also one of the featured Mercy Home Sunday Mass celebrants, airing Sundays at 9:30am on WGN.

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Contact Information

St. Paul of the Cross

320 South Washington Street
Park Ridge, IL 60068


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Phone: (847) 825-7605

Mass Schedule

UC = Upper Church
HFC = Holy Family Chapel 

Monday - Friday

6:25 am UC

8:30 am UC

Saturday

8:30 am UC - weekday Mass

4:30 pm UC - vigil

Sunday

7:30 am UC

9:00 am UC

10:30 am UC and HFC

12:00 pm UC