Evanston Priest Cracks Jokes Over the Airwaves, From the Pulpit

What did Jesus Christ tell the Cubs before his ascension into heaven?

Don’t do anything until I come back.

No, it's not a joke from a stand-up comedian. It's a line from the pulpit of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Evanston, where Father Greg Sakowicz has presided for the past three years.

The priest known around Chicago for his commentary on WGN-TV's Midnight Mass Christmas eve broadcast combines a personal touch with parishioners and a family legacy in local radio to carve his niche in the Chicago archdiocese.

Sakowicz was born in Chicago in a heavily Polish neighborhood, but his family trekked northwest to Park Ridge when Greg was still a youngster. Despite his North Side roots, he became a die-hard Sox fan which explains the joke he made about the Cubs.

Like so many other little boys, Sakowicz had a dream of following his sports heroes on the Chicago Bears. To this day, his love of sports remains, and his sermons are sprinkled with athletic references.

“You incorporate because that is who you are,” Sakowicz notes.

Growing up, Sakowicz was front and center in the world of broadcasting, as his father, Sig Sakowicz, was a presence on Chicago radio. Soon Greg Sakowicz was dabbling in radio and was offered a scholarship at Northwestern to study broadcasting, but, searching for serenity, he decided to go in another direction. He attended two Chicago area seminaries and was ordained as a priest in 1979. It’s not a decision he regrets.

“The peace never left me,” he said.

While Sakowicz did take up the priesthood, broadcasting remains a central part of his life. n the 80s, he was mixied popular rock hits with spiritual themes as a disc jockey. He remains on radio and TV today, hosting a discussion program on Relevant Radio 950-AM, and for the last 28 years he provided commentary on Midnight Mass broadcasts on WGN-TV.

Chicago playwright Vicki Quade, creator of the hit comedy Late Nite Catechism, has known Sakowicz for many years and has been interviewed by him several times.

“Father Greg has a sharp mind and a quick wit," Quade says. "He loves to tease people in a gentle way and doesn’t mind getting ribbed a little bit.”

But broadcasting is his side job. He still has the daily responsibility of serving a congregation. According to archdiocese rules, priests must move around after a certain number of years in a parish. Before Evanston, Sakowicz spent 18 years at an Edgebrook church, and while he remembers his time there fondly, he noted it was a fairly homogenous population.

Seeking guidance as to what type of population he should serve next, Sakowicz said he realized finding a more diverse congregation was important to him.

“My entire prayer was try something different, try something different, try something different. I realize I was drawn to St. Mary’s because of the incredible diversity.” Sakowicz recalled. “There is an incredible diversity in the way of wealth to poverty but there is also an incredible diversity in terms of nationality. We are like the United Nations here.”

One of Sakowicz’s biggest supporters is Evanston resident Stephanie Hitt, who has belonged to St. Mary’s for 11 years.

“He is an incredibly personable and gregarious,” she said. “He is unapologetic about being Catholic. He brings a lot of strength, energy and enthusiasm into the parish.”

Hitt points to the annual neighborhood block party, which she believes Sakowicz has re-energized. 

“He has made it a more dynamic event,” she said. “It now involves the whole community and it goes beyond the parish. It tends to draw a lot of people who don’t necessarily belong to the parish and live in the neighborhood.”

Also, Hitt says Sakowicz has a certain diplomatic quality that helps smooth out differences among his parishioners.

“When it comes to controversy ... he is very good at listening to all of the arguments and then he will meet with each party separately,” she points out. “He is very good at getting people to find common ground.”

Yet for everything that Sakowicz has brought to his particular congregation, overall these past few years have certainly been a challenge for the Catholic Church given the scandal of abuse and the reverberations still in today’s headlines.

“When the whole pedophile scandal broke in 2002, it was horrible,” Sakowicz said. “I had days that you were almost embarrassed at what had taken place with the sins of the fathers and the bishops. We really took a hit with people trusting us and the church.”

The issue in front of the church today is the recent selection of Jorge Mario Bergoglio as the new Pope. Sakowicz was surprised by the decision of Pope Benedict XVI, but salutes him for stepping down given his health issues.

“He’s a man first, before he is a Pope,” Sakowicz notes. “I thought it was an incredible act of humility and courage to step down. He was realistic, 'I am 85 and my health isn’t good. I can’t do the job anymore and you need someone younger.' I think it takes incredible humility to give up all that power while you are still alive.”

Sakowicz was pleased with the March election of Bergoglio, who has taken on the name of Pope Francis, especially the geography of the choice.

“I am incredibly happy and impressed,” he said. “I like it that he is non-European and choosing the name of Francis is very symbolic because Francis was about humility, service and a sense of humbleness.”

Back in Evanston, Sakowicz remains very happy leading the flock of the 148-year-old St. Mary’s. Despite a left knee that gives him trouble and some names that slip his mind from time to time, Sakowicz reports overall his health is good and he believes St. Mary’s will be his last stop of a career.

Despite his passion for broadcasting, he still loves the personal interaction, which can not come through sitting behind a microphone in a studio.

“When I look out on Sunday morning during mass, the people energize me,” Sakowicz says.