ICSJ Parish Refugee Ministry
The ICSJ Parish Refugee Ministry is led by a group of parishioners who are dedicated to welcoming refugee families as they arrive in America and walking alongside them as they adapt to a new country and culture. The group has been diligently working with the Catholic Charities Refugee Resettlement Program and Exodus World Service. Since 2017, ICSJ has welcomed 10 wonderful families and continues to support and maintain friendships with 7
Letter received from our partners at RefugeeOne on July 17, 2025
It’s hard to believe we’re halfway through summer! Our summer activities are in full swing, including the Youth Program’s summer camp, where this year’s theme is Science in the Sun. Though many children participate in our program, the Andino Ramirez children are taking a different approach, and we’re excited to share more about them with you!
In January, ICSJ made a donation to financially co-sponsor the resettlement of a Nicaraguan family of five.
Here is the latest update from RefugeeOne on the Andino Ramirez Family! You can read the Pope Francis’ most recent letter addressing migration in the U.S. HERE.
The Andino Ramirez family has done a fantastic job of utilizing RefugeeOne’s services to build an independent life here in Chicago. We’re inspired by their adjustment and excited to share these updates with you all.
A message from RefugeeOne* on the Ramirez Family!
Thank you, ICSJ Parish, for your generous and incredibly timely gift to RefugeeOne. We’re so grateful your parish has opted to co-sponsor the Ramirez family. As you know, the new administration has temporarily suspended the resettlement program, however this does not prohibit us from continuing to serve clients to the best of our abilities as they rebuild their lives in Chicago. We’ll ensure that the Ramirez family has access to all of our programs, such as housing, resume and job support,…
Our first refugee family has been in the United States for almost 8 years now! Since their first day here, they have been accompanied by ICSJ parishioners as they settled into their new life in Chicago. After huge milestones and celebrations, like becoming American Citizens, the family has a new and wonderful accomplishment they would like to share with our parish community.
Idrees, 17 years old, just received a well-earned, 4-year, renewable, Trustee Scholarship to Loyola University Chicago as a part of the Class of 2029!! Beginning in August of 2025, he will study…
Happy New Year! I am so excited to share that ICSJ’s Refugee Ministry is starting off strong in 2025 with a new financial co-sponsorship for a family resettling in the Chicago area.
You may remember at the end of last year, we collected items for a family of six who recently resettled in West Rogers Park. We also connected the family with “New Neighbors” from our very own ICSJ parish community, Dan and Kim Stolze and Jaime and Maria Valle, to help them get settled into their new life in Chicago! These efforts are through our partners at Exodus World Service who…
We are so excited to share with you a bit of an introduction to the sweet family I’ve been spending time with as a refugee volunteer - the Thabit family; a father, mother, and 4 year old boy. They waited 9 long years in Jordan after fleeing their home country of Yemen and finally made it safely to Chicago. Because of all of this, there is a nearly tangible, overflowing spirit of gratitude when you’re around them. The time my sons and I have spent with them has been seriously wonderful. I expected the first meeting to be a little awkward - just meeting one another, not speaking the same language…
In December of 2022, our first ‘Pioneer Refugee’ family’s father became a U.S. Citizen. We are thrilled to share that his wife became a citizen in November, enabling their minor children to gain their citizenship also! They are grateful beyond words for the love and support from our ICSJ family of families since their arrival from Kabul, Afghanistan nearly seven years ago where the father had worked with our US Military. He has been employed consistently since their arrival, the mother has beautifully managed the family, and the children have been model students and great athletes at their schools.
And they are from Burma (or, as it was renamed in 1989, Myanmar). The country struggled under military rule for over 50 years till Aung San Suu Kyi, the former Prisoner of Conscience, won an overwhelming electoral victory in 2015. However, the military is not letting go—they redrafted the Constitution so she could only be “State Counselor,” not President.
Thank you to all who recently contributed to our Refugee Family Collection. We were able to raise $20,469 to support the family that arrived in Chicago on March 29 from Afghanistan—far surpassing the $8,000 we needed. Besides this incredible financial support, so many of our parishioners have graciously offered to help the family get settled and adjusted in our big city, and offered other services as well.
The response has been phenomenal. Thank you for your generosity and support. This has been a great hallmark of our Lenten journey this year.
Through the overwhelming love and generosity of our ICSJ Parish, our family of families, we were able to add one more very special family!
After months of meetings beginning in 2016 with a small group from our parish and representatives from Catholic Charities, we learned the steps and time frame for sponsoring a very well vetted refugee family. We discussed the need for raising the necessary funds, and then we finally received word that there was an Afghan family of six for us to sponsor!
Good morning!. There are 65 million refugees today—the highest level since WWII—who have been forcibly uprooted by war, persecution, ethnic and religious strife. That number 65 million is equivalent to the entire population of Great Britain!
A small group of Parishioners who has been working with Catholic Charities Refugee Resettlement Program which has 40 years of experience helping refugees reach America and settling here in Chicago. But with few refugee families being able to immigrate to our country as of late, we have been patiently—and not so patiently—waiting and hoping that we still are able to receive a family.
Two weeks ago, Fr. Larry talked about the formation of a Refugee Committee in our Parish. With enthusiasm and commitment, this small group reached out to Catholic Charities Resettlement Staff, parishioners from nearby churches who had already sponsored refugee families, studied the process of identifying and vetting refugees, and learned the requirements for sponsorship—including the necessary funding for a family’s first three months of rent/security deposit.
Letter received from our partners at RefugeeOne on July 17, 2025
It’s hard to believe we’re halfway through summer! Our summer activities are in full swing, including the Youth Program’s summer camp, where this year’s theme is Science in the Sun. Though many children participate in our program, the Andino Ramirez children are taking a different approach, and we’re excited to share more about them with you!
In January, ICSJ made a donation to financially co-sponsor the resettlement of a Nicaraguan family of five.
Here is the latest update from RefugeeOne on the Andino Ramirez Family! You can read the Pope Francis’ most recent letter addressing migration in the U.S. HERE.
The Andino Ramirez family has done a fantastic job of utilizing RefugeeOne’s services to build an independent life here in Chicago. We’re inspired by their adjustment and excited to share these updates with you all.
A message from RefugeeOne* on the Ramirez Family!
Thank you, ICSJ Parish, for your generous and incredibly timely gift to RefugeeOne. We’re so grateful your parish has opted to co-sponsor the Ramirez family. As you know, the new administration has temporarily suspended the resettlement program, however this does not prohibit us from continuing to serve clients to the best of our abilities as they rebuild their lives in Chicago. We’ll ensure that the Ramirez family has access to all of our programs, such as housing, resume and job support,…
Our first refugee family has been in the United States for almost 8 years now! Since their first day here, they have been accompanied by ICSJ parishioners as they settled into their new life in Chicago. After huge milestones and celebrations, like becoming American Citizens, the family has a new and wonderful accomplishment they would like to share with our parish community.
Idrees, 17 years old, just received a well-earned, 4-year, renewable, Trustee Scholarship to Loyola University Chicago as a part of the Class of 2029!! Beginning in August of 2025, he will study…
Happy New Year! I am so excited to share that ICSJ’s Refugee Ministry is starting off strong in 2025 with a new financial co-sponsorship for a family resettling in the Chicago area.
You may remember at the end of last year, we collected items for a family of six who recently resettled in West Rogers Park. We also connected the family with “New Neighbors” from our very own ICSJ parish community, Dan and Kim Stolze and Jaime and Maria Valle, to help them get settled into their new life in Chicago! These efforts are through our partners at Exodus World Service who…
We are so excited to share with you a bit of an introduction to the sweet family I’ve been spending time with as a refugee volunteer - the Thabit family; a father, mother, and 4 year old boy. They waited 9 long years in Jordan after fleeing their home country of Yemen and finally made it safely to Chicago. Because of all of this, there is a nearly tangible, overflowing spirit of gratitude when you’re around them. The time my sons and I have spent with them has been seriously wonderful. I expected the first meeting to be a little awkward - just meeting one another, not speaking the same language…
In December of 2022, our first ‘Pioneer Refugee’ family’s father became a U.S. Citizen. We are thrilled to share that his wife became a citizen in November, enabling their minor children to gain their citizenship also! They are grateful beyond words for the love and support from our ICSJ family of families since their arrival from Kabul, Afghanistan nearly seven years ago where the father had worked with our US Military. He has been employed consistently since their arrival, the mother has beautifully managed the family, and the children have been model students and great athletes at their schools.
And they are from Burma (or, as it was renamed in 1989, Myanmar). The country struggled under military rule for over 50 years till Aung San Suu Kyi, the former Prisoner of Conscience, won an overwhelming electoral victory in 2015. However, the military is not letting go—they redrafted the Constitution so she could only be “State Counselor,” not President.
Thank you to all who recently contributed to our Refugee Family Collection. We were able to raise $20,469 to support the family that arrived in Chicago on March 29 from Afghanistan—far surpassing the $8,000 we needed. Besides this incredible financial support, so many of our parishioners have graciously offered to help the family get settled and adjusted in our big city, and offered other services as well.
The response has been phenomenal. Thank you for your generosity and support. This has been a great hallmark of our Lenten journey this year.
Through the overwhelming love and generosity of our ICSJ Parish, our family of families, we were able to add one more very special family!
After months of meetings beginning in 2016 with a small group from our parish and representatives from Catholic Charities, we learned the steps and time frame for sponsoring a very well vetted refugee family. We discussed the need for raising the necessary funds, and then we finally received word that there was an Afghan family of six for us to sponsor!
Good morning!. There are 65 million refugees today—the highest level since WWII—who have been forcibly uprooted by war, persecution, ethnic and religious strife. That number 65 million is equivalent to the entire population of Great Britain!
A small group of Parishioners who has been working with Catholic Charities Refugee Resettlement Program which has 40 years of experience helping refugees reach America and settling here in Chicago. But with few refugee families being able to immigrate to our country as of late, we have been patiently—and not so patiently—waiting and hoping that we still are able to receive a family.
Two weeks ago, Fr. Larry talked about the formation of a Refugee Committee in our Parish. With enthusiasm and commitment, this small group reached out to Catholic Charities Resettlement Staff, parishioners from nearby churches who had already sponsored refugee families, studied the process of identifying and vetting refugees, and learned the requirements for sponsorship—including the necessary funding for a family’s first three months of rent/security deposit.