Alonzo Small and Lourdes Duarte
4 weeks ago
4 weeks ago
CHICAGO (WGN) — A group of (30) Illinois mayors recently ventured overseas to the Vatican to meet Pope Leo.
Matteson Mayor Sheila Chalmers-Currin, also the president of the Illinois Municipal League, led a delegation of Illinois mayors to Rome for an exclusive meeting with the first American pope. The group departed on March 28 and returned on April 2.
‘God bless the White Sox’ earns a thumbs up from Pope Leo in Rome, video shows
Speaking with WGN’s Lourdes Daurte on Friday’s Evening News at 5 p.m., Chalmers-Currin called the encounter with Pope Leo a great experience.
Matteson Mayor Sheila Chalmers-Currin, also the president of the Illinois Municipal League, led a delegation of Illinois mayors to Rome for an exclusive meeting with the first American pope. The group departed on March 28 and returned on April 2.
‘God bless the White Sox’ earns a thumbs up from Pope Leo in Rome, video shows
Speaking with WGN’s Lourdes Daurte on Friday’s Evening News at 5 p.m., Chalmers-Currin called the encounter with Pope Leo a great experience.
Photo courtesy of Sean Howard
Photo courtesy of Sean Howard
Photo courtesy of Sean Howard
“Just reflecting back on the experience, it’s almost as if I don’t believe it actually happened,” the mayor said. “There are so many moments in this overall experience that I look back on and say, ‘I’ve got to write it down,’ I have to keep remembering just the experience itself. It was such a great experience.”
Chalmers-Currin said Pope Leo was personable and down to earth, adding that the two spoke about the town of Matteson and his own upbringing. While a native of south suburban Dolton, Pope Leo told Chalmers-Currin that he lived in Matteson for a portion of his adult life.
“That blew me away because we had no understanding or knowledge of that,” said Chalmers-Currin, joking that she currently has people actively working on figuring out when and where exactly Pope Leo resided in Matteson.
Other Illinois mayors who made the trip include Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara, Champaign Mayor Deborah Frank Feinen, Decauter Mayor Tony Powers and more, Chalmers-Currin said.
Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines
Watch her complete interview with WGN News in the video player above.
ADDRESS OF POPE LEO XIV
TO MEMBERS OF THE ILLINOIS MUNICIPAL LEAGUE
Clementine Hall
Monday, 30 March 2026
[Multimedia]
______________________________
Good morning everyone, and welcome!
Let us begin, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Peace be with you!
Dear brothers and sisters, welcome to the Vatican and to Rome.
I am pleased to meet all of you who represent the Illinois Municipal League. You are visiting the Vatican during Holy Week, when Catholics throughout the world, along with many other Christians, commemorate the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus, whose loving obedience to the Father even unto death has obtained the gift of redemption for all humanity (cf. Phil 2:8). Through the Paschal Mystery, the Lord shows us that even the most difficult and challenging circumstances can be transformed from within by the power of love. Perhaps suffering cannot always be avoided or removed, but redemptive meaning can be found that not only restores lost dignity, but opens the door to new life. Indeed, Jesus’ resurrection is the ultimate source of hope for all who believe in Christ and await the promise of eternal life.
The victory of the Risen Lord over death also reveals that the heart of authentic authority is service, for Jesus came “not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mt 20:28). His service and obedience to the will of the Father have led to sure hope and lasting peace for all humanity. In this way, the victory born of Christ’s gift-of-self stands as both a beacon and a challenge for all of us today. As men and women charged with the role of governance, you too are called to discover and to exemplify the gift of service. In a particular way, you are called to be attentive to the needs of the weakest and the most vulnerable in order to assist them towards an integral human development. As Venerable Giorgio La Pira, who was a former mayor of the Italian city of Florence, once noted, mayors are called to reduce and alleviate suffering and difficulties among their citizens in every way possible, “with all of the measures that love suggests and the law provides” (Writings, VI, p. 83).
In order to do this, you must first strive to know people’s aspirations as well as their challenges. The dignity of each individual must be recognized and upheld, for your municipalities are not anonymous places, but rather have faces and histories that are to be cherished as precious treasures (cf. Address to Members of the National Association of Italian Municipalities, 29 December 2025). While there are many tasks that vie for your attention each day, I would encourage you to continue listening to the poor, to immigrants, to the least among you, seeking to accompany them in your work to promote the common good to the benefit of all. In this way, each of your municipalities may be places for genuine encounter among all citizens, providing opportunities for every individual to flourish.
Dear friends, I assure you of my prayers and express gratitude for the devoted service that you offer on a daily basis to those you govern. May you continue this important work each day with joy, with love, and with zeal, always remembering that those in authority are also God’s servants (cf. Rom 13:6). In this sense, imitating Christ’s docility to the will of the Father will further open to you the true dynamism of service and allow you to bring the peace bestowed upon us by the Risen Christ to your constituents.
I entrust you and your loved ones to the intercession of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, who ministered to the most vulnerable with great love and devotion for many years in Chicago, and I gladly bless each one of you and all your loved ones from the heart.
Thank you very much.
“Just reflecting back on the experience, it’s almost as if I don’t believe it actually happened,” the mayor said. “There are so many moments in this overall experience that I look back on and say, ‘I’ve got to write it down,’ I have to keep remembering just the experience itself. It was such a great experience.”
Chalmers-Currin said Pope Leo was personable and down to earth, adding that the two spoke about the town of Matteson and his own upbringing. While a native of south suburban Dolton, Pope Leo told Chalmers-Currin that he lived in Matteson for a portion of his adult life.
“That blew me away because we had no understanding or knowledge of that,” said Chalmers-Currin, joking that she currently has people actively working on figuring out when and where exactly Pope Leo resided in Matteson.
Other Illinois mayors who made the trip include Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara, Champaign Mayor Deborah Frank Feinen, Decauter Mayor Tony Powers and more, Chalmers-Currin said.
Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines
Watch her complete interview with WGN News in the video player above.
TO MEMBERS OF THE ILLINOIS MUNICIPAL LEAGUE
Clementine Hall
Monday, 30 March 2026
[Multimedia]
______________________________
Good morning everyone, and welcome!
Let us begin, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Peace be with you!
Dear brothers and sisters, welcome to the Vatican and to Rome.
I am pleased to meet all of you who represent the Illinois Municipal League. You are visiting the Vatican during Holy Week, when Catholics throughout the world, along with many other Christians, commemorate the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus, whose loving obedience to the Father even unto death has obtained the gift of redemption for all humanity (cf. Phil 2:8). Through the Paschal Mystery, the Lord shows us that even the most difficult and challenging circumstances can be transformed from within by the power of love. Perhaps suffering cannot always be avoided or removed, but redemptive meaning can be found that not only restores lost dignity, but opens the door to new life. Indeed, Jesus’ resurrection is the ultimate source of hope for all who believe in Christ and await the promise of eternal life.
The victory of the Risen Lord over death also reveals that the heart of authentic authority is service, for Jesus came “not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mt 20:28). His service and obedience to the will of the Father have led to sure hope and lasting peace for all humanity. In this way, the victory born of Christ’s gift-of-self stands as both a beacon and a challenge for all of us today. As men and women charged with the role of governance, you too are called to discover and to exemplify the gift of service. In a particular way, you are called to be attentive to the needs of the weakest and the most vulnerable in order to assist them towards an integral human development. As Venerable Giorgio La Pira, who was a former mayor of the Italian city of Florence, once noted, mayors are called to reduce and alleviate suffering and difficulties among their citizens in every way possible, “with all of the measures that love suggests and the law provides” (Writings, VI, p. 83).
In order to do this, you must first strive to know people’s aspirations as well as their challenges. The dignity of each individual must be recognized and upheld, for your municipalities are not anonymous places, but rather have faces and histories that are to be cherished as precious treasures (cf. Address to Members of the National Association of Italian Municipalities, 29 December 2025). While there are many tasks that vie for your attention each day, I would encourage you to continue listening to the poor, to immigrants, to the least among you, seeking to accompany them in your work to promote the common good to the benefit of all. In this way, each of your municipalities may be places for genuine encounter among all citizens, providing opportunities for every individual to flourish.
Dear friends, I assure you of my prayers and express gratitude for the devoted service that you offer on a daily basis to those you govern. May you continue this important work each day with joy, with love, and with zeal, always remembering that those in authority are also God’s servants (cf. Rom 13:6). In this sense, imitating Christ’s docility to the will of the Father will further open to you the true dynamism of service and allow you to bring the peace bestowed upon us by the Risen Christ to your constituents.
I entrust you and your loved ones to the intercession of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, who ministered to the most vulnerable with great love and devotion for many years in Chicago, and I gladly bless each one of you and all your loved ones from the heart.
Thank you very much.
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