Welcome to all current and future Ministers of Care
What is Ministry of Care?
Ministers of Care bring communion, prayer, and compassion to the sick and homebound. We are commissioned by our Bishop through the Parish Pastor to be witnesses to the suffering of our members and to follow the Gospel message to care for those who cannot care for themselves.
Pope Leo and before him Pope Francis encourage us to support the suffering:
On 3/15/2026 Pope Leo spoke to the faithful in St. Peter's square::
“Faith is not a blind act, a forsaking of reason or a retreat into some sort of religious certainty that causes us to turn our gaze away from the world,” he said. “On the contrary, faith helps us to see things ‘as Jesus Himself sees them, with His own eyes’.” The Pope invited Christians to open our eyes so that we can see the sufferings of others and the afflictions that wound humanity.
Pope Francis addressed the audience in St. Peter's square on November 9th 2016 with these words:
Let us not fall into indifference, but become instruments of God’s mercy. All of us can be instruments of God’s mercy, and this will do more good to us than to others because mercy passes through a gesture, a word, a visit, and this mercy is an act of restoring the joy and dignity which has been lost.
Pope Leo and before him Pope Francis encourage us to support the suffering:
On 3/15/2026 Pope Leo spoke to the faithful in St. Peter's square::
“Faith is not a blind act, a forsaking of reason or a retreat into some sort of religious certainty that causes us to turn our gaze away from the world,” he said. “On the contrary, faith helps us to see things ‘as Jesus Himself sees them, with His own eyes’.” The Pope invited Christians to open our eyes so that we can see the sufferings of others and the afflictions that wound humanity.
Pope Francis addressed the audience in St. Peter's square on November 9th 2016 with these words:
Let us not fall into indifference, but become instruments of God’s mercy. All of us can be instruments of God’s mercy, and this will do more good to us than to others because mercy passes through a gesture, a word, a visit, and this mercy is an act of restoring the joy and dignity which has been lost.
TRAINING INFO / Recent NewsFind out more about becoming a Minister of Care(MOC) at the St. Thomas the Apostle(STA) parish in Hyde Park:
SPRING TRAINING 2026 Self Study Classes commence 3/21 Classroom Study 3/28 9am-1:00pm @ Calvert House For more information please contact Sharon Dobbs at [email protected], or you may call the STA parish secretary at 773-324-2626. Send an email for more information:
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About the author:Sharon Dobbs BCC trained and served as a Staff Chaplain at Northwestern Medical for 5 years supporting Organ Transplant and Cardiac patients and families and the staff caring for them. She was awarded Board Certification from the National Association of Catholic Chaplains in November 2019. Sharon graduated from Catholic Theological Union with an MA in Pastoral Studies in 2016. She worked as a technologist for over 40 years, is an amateur photographer, and a Minister of Care Coordinator for St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Hyde Park Chicago. This web site reflects her interests and passion in these fields and was her final capstone project as part of the Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies(MAPS) at CTU.
All photography is the property of Sharon Dobbs. 
Sharon Dobbs BCC MAPS
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