Donovan becomes pastor for busy St. Barnabas parish – The Beverly Review

The Rev. James Donovan has a clear goal as the new pastor of St. Barnabas Roman Catholic Church: keep the momentum going.

Donovan officially assumed his new role with the church, 10134 S. Longwood Dr., on July 1. He has been assigned to the church for nine years.

At St. Barnabas, he leads a parish that is preparing for a major expansion project at both its elementary school and church, as well as enjoying an increase in student enrollment.

Donovan replaced the Rev. William Malloy, who retired and has dealt with health issues since late last year. The new pastor said hes fortunate to be at St. Barnabas.

Its a great parish, so you just want to continue the tradition, Donovan said. Weve had some great pastors, so Im pretty lucky to be here.

Donovan, a North Side native, has been a priest since 1987, and he also served the parish of Our Lady of Loretto Roman Catholic Church in Hometown.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, he was secretary of priest placement from 2008-2013, and in July 2013, Cardinal Francis George appointed him vicar of priests.

Now, he will lead St. Barnabas during a busy time.

The parish is in the midst of its Imagine. Innovate. Inspire campaign, a three-phase project with a $5-million first phase that calls for a major addition to the school and church renovations.

A new education center will be built, officials said, in front of the school on Longwood Drive in an area that is currently open between the north wing of classrooms and the gym on the south.

Church updates will include new flooring, improved acoustics, built-in technology including Wi-Fi internet access, an updated kitchen and bathroom, increased storage, new lighting and a hospitality counter.

That construction is planned to begin in spring of 2019.

Phase II calls for an addition to the second floor of the school that will include classrooms and a science lab, and an expansion of the church vestibule, including a renovated main entrance.

The school addition will cost $2.85 million, officials said, and the church improvements will be $1.2 million. Construction is planned to begin in 2023, according to the campaign Web site.

Phase III, which would begin in 2030 and cost $8 million, officials said, will include demolition of the convent, located on the south end of the campus, and construction of a parish center that will feature a fine arts activities center/gym, an early-childhood center and parish offices. A rooftop space could also be included to host events ranging from student activities to community gatherings.

According to the school, over the past eight years, enrollment has increased by about 30 percent; there were 604 students in 2016-17, and as of last summer, 60 new families had joined the parish since July 1, 2015.

Donovan hopes the project continues to progress as planned.

Its doing pretty well so far. Certainly, you want the campaign to run its course, he said. Hopefully, we get everything we need. Its a wonderful parish with a great tradition, so well see how we can continue to build that up.

The past two years, St. Barnabas has also hosted ecumenical meetings and services, inviting people of all faiths for discussions on major issues in the city.

In February 2016, What Can We Do? addressed violent crimes, and the meeting included a panel of police officials and religious leaders.

Last March, You Are My Neighbor was held in response to the travel ban imposed after an executive order from President Donald Trump. A near-capacity crowd gathered with leaders from various religions.

Donovan praised church members for organizing such events.

That really started with some key parishioners bringing it forward, Donovan said. So it was important to kind of run with it.

Malloy will remain active with the parish as pastor emeritus, and he will continue to reside in the church rectory.

Last December, he announced in a church bulletin that he has an aggressive form of prostate cancer, and he underwent surgery to remove his prostate.

Malloy said the operation went well and that he finished radiation treatments about a month ago.

His tenure at St. Barnabas, Malloy said, can be summed up in one wordgratitudeand he expressed confidence in the new pastor.

Whatever we accomplished, Im grateful because we did it together as a parish, Malloy said. I think weve turned over a pretty good parish community to Fr. Donovan, who I know is going to do well. Hes got a lot of skills and ability, and he is going to be a fine pastor.

St. Barnabas celebrates Mass on Saturdays at 4 p.m., as well as on Sundays at 8 a.m., 10 a.m. and noon.

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Donovan becomes pastor for busy St. Barnabas parish - The Beverly Review