CHICAGO (April 30, 2004) - A new Catholic school in the southeast suburbs, sponsored by six area parishes and scheduled to open in August 2004, has announced it will be named Christ Our Savior Catholic School. Rev. Thomas S. Cabala will serve as the school's executive pastor.

The school will be sponsored by: St. Andrew the Apostle, Our Lady of Knock and St. Victor, all located in Calumet City, Ill.; Holy Ghost and St. Jude the Apostle, both located in South Holland, Ill.; and Queen of Apostles in Riverdale, Ill. The new school will have two campuses - the east campus will be located on the current site of St. Andrew the Apostle, 331-155 th Pl., Calumet City; and the west campus will be located on the current site of St. Jude the Apostle, 900 E. 154 th St., South Holland.

Representatives from the six sponsoring parishes chose three names and surveyed students, parents and parishioners for their preference. The majority of participants chose Christ Our Savior Catholic School and Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I., archbishop of Chicago, approved the new name.

Each of the six parishes will be part of the new school's governance structure. The pastors of each parish will form an executive committee and will work closely with Father Cabala.

Father Cabala has been pastor at St. Jude the Apostle Parish in South Holland since 1992. He attended John the Baptist School in Harvey, Ill., and Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary in Chicago. He served as associate pastor at St. Jane de Chantal, Chicago, 1979-1985 and at

St. Terrence, Alsip, 1985-1992.

"We believe this new partnership will give us the greatest opportunity to ensure Catholic education based on Gospel values along with a quality academic program for the children and families in our area," said Father Cabala. "I look forward to working with the parish leadership and school faculty to make this new model for education a success."

The new school will provide a strong academic program in a faith-based environment. In addition to core classes, music, art, physical education, computer education and Spanish classes will be offered to students in preschool through eighth grade. The academic program at each site will be held to the same high standards of excellence that the schools have required previously on an individual basis.

Parents and students interested in enrolling at Christ Our Savior Catholic School can visit www.christoursaviorcatholicschool.org or attend an open house on the following dates:

Tuesday, May 18

6:30-8 p.m.

West Campus

900 E. 154 th St., South Holland

708-333-8173

Thursday, May 20

6:30-8 p.m.

East Campus

331-155 th Pl., Calumet City

708-862-4143

The Catholic schools of the Archdiocese of Chicago play a critical role in the life of the community by providing academic excellence and faith formation for approximately 111,000 students of many races, faiths and backgrounds in the 283 elementary and secondary schools in Cook and Lake counties. There are more than 5,800 teachers in the Catholic school system who instill values, teach discipline and achieve strong, consistent academic results in the Archdiocese of Chicago's 242 elementary and 41 secondary schools. Visit the Archdiocese of Chicago Web site at www.archchicago.org/schools