The The First Lutheran Church of Plano event is open to the public and will allow residents to safely destroy sensitive documents to help prevent identity theft and fraud.

Pope Leo XIV met Monday with one of the most prominent advocates for greater LGBTQ+ inclusion in the Catholic Church and encouraged his ministry, sending a strong signal of welcome in the early months of his pontificate

Catholic church leaders in northern Illinois have asked schools in their dioceses to review security policies as they pray for those affected by a shooting at a Catholic school in Minneapolis.

The Silver Rose, a traveling Knights of Columbus exhibit, will be displayed at services following the 4 p.m. Mass on Saturday, Aug. 30 in Mendota.

The annual pasta fundraiser returns to in September to Dalzell’s Catholic church.

The award acknowledges excellence in membership growth, promotion of insurance benefits, support for Catholic faith formation programs, and service-based volunteer efforts.

Evangelical Covenant Church, Princeton, will host a free movie and root beer float event at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 6 in the church parking lot, 24 N. Main St.

First Lutheran Church in Plano will be holding a free food pantry for all of those in need in the community on Friday, Aug. 15.

Pope Leo XIV on Sunday told more than a million Catholic youths at a closing Mass for a weeklong encounter with the next generation of faithful that they are “the sign that a different world is possible"

To celebrate its 150 years of ministry, Messiah Lutheran is hosting a special anniversary service at 10 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 3, 2025, followed by a catered lunch for $5 per person.

Members and friends of the Plano Methodist Church gathered for a worship service followed by a picnic on July 13.

First Congregational Church of Crystal Lake has launched a $3.5 million capital campaign to repair and preserve its historic structures. The congregation formed in 1842.

The United Methodist Church of Geneva's annual rummage sale raised $20,000 for charity and helped keep many items out of landfills.

Pope Leo XIV renewed his call on Sunday for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, asking the international community to respect international laws and the obligation to protect civilians

A blaze at St. John's Lutheran Church in Hebron sent flames shooting into the sky from a cross atop its steeple and is believed to have started from lightning.

Update: Organizers announced they're canceling a planned vigil tribute to the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis's life in St. Charles, electing instead to plan a protest rally July 19 in his name.

Pope Leo XIV prayed Wednesday for the world to recognize the urgency of the climate crisis and “hear the cry of the poor,” as he celebrated the first papal Mass using a new set of prayers and readings inspired by Pope Francis’ environmental legacy.

Oswego’s Church of the Good Shepherd United Methodist won the 2025 John Wesley Mission Links award for per-member giving.

Plano Methodist Church vacation bible school will be held from 9 a.m. to noon July 8-11 for students age preschool through seventh grade.

Catholic bishops from Asia, Africa and Latin America demanded climate justice for the parts of the world most affected by rising temperatures and rejected what they said were the “false solutions” promoted by wealthy countries

Members from the Plano Methodist Church gathered around the campfire in the church parking lot on June 6. Registration for Vacation Bible School is open.

Hebron's United Methodist Church held its fifth annual Pride Sunday event, joining the Village in recognizing the Pride Month

Pope Leo XIV called Wednesday for humanitarian aid to reach the Gaza Strip and for an end to the “heartbreaking” toll on its people, as he presided over his first general audience in St. Peter’s Square

The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, part of the 2025 St. Katharine Drexel Route, was greeted by more than 200 worshipers outside the St. John Paul II‘s Settles Center early Sunday evening in Kankakee to start the local celebration of the historic event.

Pope Leo XIV called for a genuine and just peace in Ukraine and an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, in his first Sunday noon blessing as pontiff

Pope Leo XIV laid out the vision of his papacy Saturday, identifying artificial intelligence as one of the most critical matters facing humanity and vowing to continue with some of the core priorities of Pope Francis

A Wheaton chapel-turned-restaurant — its stained glass windows still in place — may have been the perfect backdrop for the private audience a group of theologians had with the man who would become Pope Leo XIV.

14 years ago when Jim McCormack was studying theology in the shadow of the Vatican in Rome, he never thought he’d live to see an American pope. Upon learning the new pope emanates from the ‘Windy City,’ McCormack, a Vicar at St. Patrick Parish in Yorkville, said he is thrilled.

A Mass was held on Friday to celebrate the election of Pope Leo XIV at Cathedral of St. Raymond Nonnatus in Joliet. During the Mass, Bishop Ronald Hicks told parishioners that the new pope is "very smart and capable," and also someone who is "relatable." Hicks called Pope Leo XIV a "bridge builder" who believes in unity.

Pope Leo XIV, history’s first U.S.-born pontiff, said Friday that in many places Jesus is misunderstood, “reduced to a kind of charismatic leader or superman.”

The new pope, formerly Robert Prevost and now Pope Leo XIV, is the youngest of three boys raised by a school superintendent father and school librarian mother in south suburban Dolton

From a kindergartner named Leo to pastors and faithful at churches, McHenry County-area Catholic react with excitement to the new pope - and his Chicago ties.

Open Prairie United Church of Christ in Princeton will host a free concert by folk artist Bobby Jo Valentine at 7 p.m. on Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 11.

Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, 69, is a member of the Augustinian religious order, a missionary and lived at the friary on the campus of Providence Catholic High School in New Lenox for one year in the 1980s

Pope Leo XIV ‘s choice of name signals a commitment to social justice which is in line with the late Pope Francis' global ministry

Robert Prevost has been elected the first pope from the United States in the history of the Catholic Church. The Chicago-born missionary took the name Leo XIV.

Tammy Nobbe teaches children six days per week – five at her job at the Cary Park District preschool and Sunday school at Bethany Lutheran Church in Crystal Lake.

Black smoke is pouring out of the Sistine Chapel chimney, indicating no pope was elected on the first ballot of the conclave to choose a new leader of the Catholic Church

Some 200 people gathered in prayer on the north lawn of the Kankakee County Courthouse last week to mark the national Day of Prayer.

Features of the Joliet luncheon include a style show from Brianna Lynn’s Boutique in Morris and the “Mayhem to Miracles” testimony from author and speaker Delores Liesner.

Thousands from across Chicagoland are expected to flock to Baker Stadium on the campus of Carmel Catholic High School to participate in Rosary for Hope, a family-friendly rally at 2 p.m. May 4.

Read the transcript from our Shaw Local Radio interview: La Salle Trinity Academy teacher Alex Dittmer was in Rome for canonization of first millennial saint and found himself witness to Rome in mourning after Pope Francis died

La Salle Trinity Academy teacher Alex Dittmer was in Rome for canonization of first millennial saint and found himself witness to Rome in mourning after Pope Francis died. Annie Vinyard interviewed Dittmer to understand what that experience was like.

People attending a Mass of remembrance at the Cathedral of St. Raymond Nonnatus talk about Pope Francis and the next pope.

The original peace pole garden at the Joliet church was installed after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and dedicated on April 21, 2002.

The Diocese of Joliet will hold a special remembrance Mass for Pope Francis on Thursday at Cathedral of St. Raymond Nonnatus.

Pope Francis will be laid to rest Saturday after lying in state for three days in St. Peter’s Basilica

Catholic church leaders in Joliet and Rockford dioceses react to the passing of Pope Francis, who died early Monday morning.

Tributes to Pope Francis were shared Monday by McHenry County churches, schools and Catholic faithful, many of whom awoke to the news of the pontiff’s death after having observed Easter the day before.

Pope Francis, the first Latin American pontiff, died Monday at 88