Catholic families appeal Cardinal Cupich’s school closure directly to Pope Leo

CHICAGO (LifeSiteNews) — An Archdiocese of Chicago Catholic school is appealing its closure by Cardinal Blase Cupich to Pope Leo XIV.

A coalition fighting to save St. Hubert Catholic School protested last month outside Holy Name Cathedral and the Archdiocese of Chicago in an effort to impel reconsideration of the school’s forthcoming closure, which is allegedly due to lack of financial sustainability.

The St. Hubert Coalition submitted to Cupich a Remonstratio – a request for reconsideration – arguing that an immediate closure of St. Hubert “would inflict serious and possibly irreparable harm on the right of minors” to Catholic education and “the faith journey of families concerned.” The petition presented unanswered questions about the school’s financial situation, such as why $500,000 was taken from a restricted fund for school infrastructure without consulting donors.

It also asked Cupich why the parish did not pursue viable revenue-generating opportunities for the school like cheerleading and sports camps, bingo, grants for preschool, etc.

The archdiocese recently denied the petition to reconsider the school’s closure, prompting the coalition to take their fight to the Vatican.

According to a press release shared with LifeSiteNews, the appeal to the Holy See documents leadership decisions of Cupich and local pastor Tomy Abraham that have reportedly contributed to the school’s closure, including:

• The failure to pursue available grants that could have generated up to $400,000 in preschool tuition assistance.
• Insufficient parish-level fundraising efforts.
• The transfer of over $500,000 from school funds to other parish uses.
• The decision to remove tuition discounts for lower-income families (which led to a drop in enrollment).

The petition aims in part to demonstrate to Pope Leo XIV that the school is financially sustainable. A Fiscal Year 2025 report shared with LifeSiteNews shows that the school could operate for more than five years at its current deficit and become cash-flow positive within two years with an alternative source of income from new extracurriculars.

The Vatican appeal invokes Canon 794 §2, which obliges pastors of souls to make every effort to ensure all the faithful have access to a Catholic education. It argues that Cupich had violated this obligation through his dozens of closures or mergers, including the simultaneous closure of six Catholic schools this year. These closures have been pursued despite substantial archdiocesan assets, including net assets worth over $2.4 billion and $250 million in cash and investments.

The St. Hubert Coalition has urged Pope Leo XIV to suspend the decision to close the school until the Vatican has fully reviewed the case; to reverse the closure of St. Hubert Catholic School; and to study the archdiocese’s school closure policies to “ensure alignment with the Church’s mission.”

Pope Leo XIV himself was formed by Catholic schools in the suburbs of Chicago, including St. Mary of the Assumption, the release notes. He is thus uniquely positioned to appreciate the importance of upholding Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Chicago.

“Cardinal Cupich has overseen a troubling decade of school closures, with dozens affected since his arrival in 2014,” said Angel Garcia. “While officials cite deficits, the Archdiocese holds billions in net assets. We pray Pope Leo will recognize this pattern and protect Catholic education for Chicago’s faithful.”

​​An alumnus of St. Hubert has set up a GoFundMe to help save the school, which has already raised more than $20,000 of its $500,000 goal — the deficit number cited by the archdiocese as the reason for the school’s closure.

The school closures in the Archdiocese of Chicago are part of a newly emerging larger pattern of Catholic school closures allegedly due to financial strain but without serious efforts to remedy school finances. In at least one recent case in the Archdiocese of Denver, a Catholic elementary school is being closed despite an admitted lack of a financial emergency.