History of Divine Mercy Parish:
The Merger of Sacred Heart and St. Philip the Apostle

Divine Mercy Parish was established on July 1, 2018. This new parish combined two former parishes, Sacred Heart and St. Philip the Apostle, as a result of the Renew My Church process in the Archdiocese of Chicago. Renew My Church is an initiative of Cardinal Cupich that seeks to ensure the sustainable growth of the Church of Chicago. This initiative has, as its goal, that all faith communities are served by a vibrant, vital and life-giving Church experience, that pastoral leaders have the resources they need to carry out the mission of Christ, and that we inspire disciples to accompany all members of our family of faith to a deeper, personal relationship with the Lord. Renew My Church calls us to face our challenges and boldly reimagine what it means to be Church.
We look to the future as Divine Mercy Parish, embracing our mission to make disciples, build church and serve others.
Several parishioners from both Sacred Heart and St. Philip were part of a team that included members from the five north shore parishes, the three others being Sts. Faith Hope & Charity in Winnetka, and St. Joseph and St. Francis Xavier in Wilmette. They met for months to consider, evaluate, envision and discern the future of the Catholic Church on the Northshore. They submitted several recommendations to the Renew My Church Commission, which in turn offered their recommendation to Cardinal Cupich. The result was combining the parishes of Sacred Heart and St. Philip the Apostle, the parishes of St. Joseph and St. Francis Xavier, and leaving Sts. Faith, Hope & Charity as is. Each new combined parish was then asked to discern a new name for itself. A group of parishioners from Sacred Heart and St. Philip gathered to create a slate of names for parishioners to consider. Parishioners expressed their preferences, and Divine Mercy was the overwhelming choice of the people at both worship sites. 
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Dedication of the new Divine Mercy Parish
We look to the future as Divine Mercy parish, embracing our mission to make disciples, build church and serve others. We are disciples of a faith community that seeks to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ. We are mission driven. We’ll strive to bring people to Christ; support each other in knowing Christ more deeply; encounter Christ and receive nourishment through prayer and worship; build bonds among each other to sustain our life in Christ; transform the lives of others through service as Christ’s missionary disciples; respond to the call to holiness by journeying together with Christ; and take responsibility for the administration and leadership of the parish as good stewards of all the gifts Christ has entrusted to us.