​Vade Mecum, Guide for the Journey
 
In late 2020, the Archdiocese of Chicago announced that Our Lady of Victory Church, which had been serving the Catholic community on the northwest side of Chicago for more than 100 years, would permanently close the following year and consolidate with a neighboring parish.
 
Parishioners, some of whom were third and fourth generation members, were left with understandable feelings of profound sadness and loss. But for some, anger over the decision left them with resentment and deep uncertainty as to whether they would even continue to practice their faith.
 
To help deal with the emotional loss, a group of parishioners raised money and hired a production company to create a video to foster healing and reconciliation. By documenting the church’s long and rich history, the video would bind together current parishioners at a difficult time and, more importantly, help them understand that their personal faith, just as the faith of their parish ancestors, must continue to be carried forward. That long history of faith must now be carried forward to a new parish community.
 
While the video is documentary in structure, it is entered under the Religion/Spirituality category because it is primarily a video about faith. The Latin title, Vade Mecum, roughly translates to mean: “What you take before embarking on a journey,” thereby encouraging parishioners to take faith on their journey forward.
 
Vade Mecum premiered on October 10, 2021 at a historic neighborhood theatre, fittingly within blocks of the now shuttered church. The video now resides on the website of the newly named parish, Our Lady of the Rosary (www.olrosary.org). Scroll down to the Our Lady of Victory headline to find the link.
 
Thank you for allowing me to share this information. As I hope that you can see, this context is essential to understanding the video, particularly the closing.
 
Susan Zimny
Executive Producer 

Click here to view video




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