Archbishop Cupich agrees with school closing decision

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Archbishop Blase Cupich celebrated Mass Sunday morning at Saint Hyacinth Basilica on the city's Northwest Side, one of the largest Polish parishes in the country.

The church's school is one of 11 Catholic schools in the city and suburbs that will either close or be reconfigured.

The decision to close the school at Saint Hyacinth Catholic Church was made before his appointment and Archbishop Cupich was there to celebrate Mass, not to reconsider that decision.

"The decisions will stand and we just have to move forward now to continue to strengthen our Catholic schools," he said.

St. Hyacinth is celebrating its 120th anniversary and the Mass included children and alumni from the school, many of who were hopeful of hearing the archbishop talk about why the school is closing.

"I'm actually pretty sad because I've been here over five years and knowing that the school is closing is really disappointing for me and for my friends," said 8th grade student Carolina Ortiz.

"We were hoping he was going to say something during Mass so everybody could hear it. That's what I wanted to tell him, 'Save our school,'" said parent Javier Jimenez.

The Archbishop of Chicago says he wants to move forward, rather than revisit decisions made by his predecessor, Francis Cardinal George. His primary concern, he says, is that students from St. Hyacinth and the five other schools slated to close at the end of the school year have another nearby Catholic school to attend.

He says they will, but parents are disappointed.

"We would love to invite him to come and see our school," Angie Ybarra said.

The school's first-year principal admits it would take a miracle, but they are still hoping.

"We're still continuing to pray, we're still going to continue with our fundraisers. We have our SOS, Save Our School, campaign still going on, so we are not giving up hope," said Principal Christine Huzenis.

The closings will affect more than 1,200 students and 200 employees in the archdiocese.

Cardinal George wrote when he announced the closings that, unlike previous years when he reversed some decisions about closings, the decisions this time are final. Archbishop Cupich apparently agrees.