Fr. James' Letters

February 5, 2023

Dear Parishioners,


Nothing makes my heart feel better than service. Sometimes I can get too much in my own head: thinking about my needs and my issues and my desires and yadda, yadda, yadda. Because I’m complicated and foggy, too much time in my head makes me feel like I’m in darkness. If I can break out of myself and go be with someone and, even better, go serve someone, then that darkness vanishes. I stop thinking about myself and stop fretting about what I don’t have. I instead look to God and to others. I’m able to be impacted by them and see the beauty of life.

Read more: February 5, 2023

January 29, 2023

Dear Parishioners,

I owe everything to my priesthood. I remember as a kid how Sammy Sosa, the Chicago Cubs slugger, would always say when interviewed, “baseball has been very, very good to me.” Well, I would repeat that: “God has been very, very good to me.” Hopefully you would say that too.

Read more: January 29, 2023

January 22, 2023

Dear Parishioners,

I love walking. I know many of you do too. Maybe not so much in this weather, but, in general, walking is an activity I enjoy. I prefer walking much more to running, and yet I run more than I walk. Oh well, maybe I’ll figure that out some day.

Read more: January 22, 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