Evangelizing at Mokena Italian Fest 2026
This was our second year at the Italian Fest in Mokena, and my first year attending it personally. There was a great procession in the morning that our Station Leader, Michael, took part in. The event was sponsored by the Knights of Columbus at the local parish, so our Lady of Mt. Carmel was processed in and given a place of honor at the festival where people could come to venerate her and pray to her Divine Son, Jesus. Our booth was set up right next to it. I arrived later in the day towards the end, but even in those two hours I and the team encountered many people.
I was told the first part of the day included a lot of prayers given for those who were already pretty faithful, smattered with some longer conversations. For my part, the first encounter I had was with an older gentleman, Rod, and his wife. Both were in their mid-to-late 70's. Rod came up and said he liked seeing our rosaries and said he's had his blessed at the Vatican and took it out to show us! He and his wife talked about how they are at a nearby parish in Homer Glen and go to Mass there on Sunday's, but when they saw the Confession with Examination of Conscience pamphlets on the table next to the rosaries, Rod expressed that he hasn't been to Confession in many years, and chuckled while making the Sign of the Cross. He mentioned this a couple times in our conversation, and I then encouraged him to go to Confession, and his wife as well. They hemmed and hawed a bit, and brought up "the nuns" that allegedly had smacked them around during their Catholic schooldays, and chuckled about that as well. I asked him if I could tell him why I still go to Confession often and need it. He obliged, and I asked him if he knew of the Byzantine Catholic parish in his town (which I frequent).
I told him they have a 7 PM Thursday Mass (Divine Liturgy) every week. He was surprised by that. I told him I go to Confession because I need God's grace, and I try to go often. I told him I took my sons to Mass just two days prior, and I knew I needed to go to Confession because of my temper, things I had said and done to some people close to me, and that I simply walked up to Father before Mass, asked him to go to Confession, and he let me before Mass. He seemed surprised by that, and my fellow evangelist, Ben, told him that it's very easy to go in and make an appointment or approach a priest. Rod's wife also seemed surprised it was so easy. I encouraged Rod again to go to Confession if it's been many years, and told him to take a Confession pamphlet. He did, and then they walked away. Please pray for Rod and his wife. Like our Lord says in Scripture, so many people are like sheep without a shepherd. How have these people been going to Mass for so long at their parish on Sunday's, but not realize the need for sacramental Confession? Pray that this encounter with them bears fruit!
Later, we spoke with Zeke who is a faithful husband father of two young children. He knew some of my family members from other events. We built each other up as we talked about living a faithful Catholic life in the present day, and I gave him the information from Formed at his parish so he could share some things with his family at home. He loves the beauty of the Church's liturgy, and was glad to see us there. He came back when I was speaking with another person and wrote down his prayer intention, which was for his wayward sibling, but also for his wife to come to greater faith. Please pray for this man of God!
We also spoke with Bob and his wife Jenny whose son is suffering from mental illness. He serves as an acolyte at his local parish, and still has more children at home, but his oldest has caused a lot of familial strife. His wife prayed with one of our other evangelists, but as Bob and I were talking she came by and joined in, and was overcome with emotion as she was so happy to see other faithful Catholics out here that she could talk to about this issue with her son. We prayed together again. Both were thankful, and Bob and I agreed that as Italians, sometimes are tempers get hot. But he reminded me that we always need to remember how our Lord Jesus would act. We encouraged each other and they went on their way with a few items from our table.
Another man was walking by our booth, glanced and kept going, but I asked if he would like a rosary or medal. He stopped, turned around and came up and said, "Sure, why not." He took one that was his favorite color and I asked if he knew how to pray the rosary, and he said a little bit, but it's been a while. We had run out of pamphlets by this point on how to pray the Rosary, but I had another pamphlet from a different apostolate that not only listed the mysteries of the Rosary (which I showed him), but also had many other summations of the Catholic faith and what Catholics believe. He took it willingly and walked away before we could engage in further conversation. Pray for him to frequent the sacraments!
We later spoke with Matt, who works for the CTA and while he is in a faith sharing group at work, he is being ridiculed. He acknowledged his Catholic faith to us, and burst into tears while talking with us, saying he needed a minute before he walked away, hoping his family "doesn't think he's crazy!" We reassured him, and told him he's up against a lot. Even though he has 16 people in the prayer group that started at work, many people are insulting him for his faith, and we told him to keep witnessing to the Gospel. We prayed together on the spot that he would continue being courageous and walk with Jesus always through the Sacraments. We gave him a Bible as he left, and he was genuinely touched that we gave him one. I wish I had one for all of his people in his group, I told him, but he said this would be very beneficial for him. He was so thankful for our words of good cheer, and he was sincerely thankful. We also prayed for his grandson that is suffering with blindness in one eye, which he really appreciated. Please pray for him, his grandson, and the people he works with!
Another woman, we'll call her Ava, came up and like the first couple we spoke with, said that she has been to the Vatican many times, gets her rosaries blest, and said that I must go at some point! I asked when the last time she was there. She said 10 years ago, and that she really wants to go again. I did some math in my head and said, "Hey that's great, last time you saw Pope Francis, now you can see Pope Leo from the Southside of Chicago!" Her demeanor then took a very different turn, she got quiet, started holding back tears, and sad she did not like did not like Popes Francis and Leo, and called them "woke". I was taken aback, but acknowledged the hurt that the confusing statements issued during the last two pontificates have had lasting effects upon the faithful. Accompanying her, I asked if we could pray; we did, and after our prayer I told her that no matter who the pope is, the gates of hell will never prevail against Christ's Catholic Church and to stay close to Christ always through the sacraments no matter what we hear in the news. She nodded with some trepidation and then walked away. Pray for her, and for all those that carry wounds like hers.
Later, Cheryl came up with her significant other. She smiled and said she wanted to see what we had and was glad to hear it was all free! She immediately said she went to Catholic school growing up, but has been a lifelong Baptist. She says she still ahs friends that invite her to Mass and she goes sometimes. I asked her if she ever thought about becoming a Catholic Christian. She effectively gave a non-answer, and I asked if I could tell her why I remain a Catholic to this day. She said that'd be fine, and I told her about what Jesus willed in the Bible; that all the people He ahs been given - meaning all Christians - ought to be one just as He and the Father are one. She agreed that God the Father and God the Son are very close, and I said that means it's not good that there are so many different Christian confession, all believing different things. She nodded her head and said she tries to glean what's good from them all, whether it's Catholic, Baptist, or going to her aunt's Jehovah's Witness church. I told her that while they all have some good, there are things that we cannot tolerate, like her aunt's community not believing Jesus is divine. I told her that Jesus set up a Church that can trace it's lineage back to the Apostles. That only those men and their successors can give us the Eucharist, and I told her that we need the Eucharist as Christians. I was going to give her a True Eucharist pamphlet, but we only had Spanish ones! One of the other evangelists gave her a "Why Be Catholic" pamphlet, and she took that willingly since the Eucharist and Christian unity is mentioned there. She mentioned how she'll keep getting what's good out of all these confessions, but I exhorted her one last time to keep accepting the invitation of her Catholic friends to go to Mass more often, and to pray on this and consider joining the Catholic Church permanently. She willingly took some medals, and her significant other said he wanted a crucifix, and then we parted amicably. Pray for both of them so that they may enter the one true Church of Christ!
At the end, Anne came up while we were starting to pack things away. It was a long conversation we had; she was elderly, around 80, but had had a lot of pep in her step! She was an Italian immigrant, and told us that the only thing that has kept her standing, especially as a single mother of two children when she was younger, was her Catholic faith. She lamented how one of her children recently left the Church, ostensibly because one parish was wanting more money for Religious Education and they couldn't afford it, so they went to a Protestant megachurch. She said this has broken her heart. Gave her some resources, but she admitted she can't read or write well, and English is not her first language. One of her children is fairly faithful, so I gave her information for the Amen app and the Formed.org website. I also said when the time is right, to give a book to her daughter. I gave her Trent Horn's "Case for Catholicism:, and she gladly took that for her daughter. We then prayed together for her whole family, including her son who was just recovering from a heart attack. She was very happy to see us and she said she hoped that we would run into each other again!
Please pray for all these people, and all those that our team encountered!