Parish named for Sts. Martha, Mary, and Lazarus keeps the faith on Chicago’s South Side

July 29 is the feast day of Sts. Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. It’s a relatively new feast day, implemented fewer than six years ago. The faithful might remember these siblings — especially since they are mentioned in all four Gospels — as friends and disciples of Jesus.

Individually, each of the three siblings has important lessons to teach. Martha, the oldest sibling, has a heart for service but is also anxious and worried about many things; Jesus encourages her to focus on the contemplation of Jesus himself, as her sister Mary has done. And Jesus’ raising of Lazarus from the dead provides a powerful witness to the eventual resurrection of the body. Together, the siblings display admirable qualities of unity and love.

For one Catholic parish, Sts. Martha, Mary, and Lazarus Parish on the South Side of Chicago, the patronage of Sts. Martha, Mary, and Lazarus serves as a symbol of the unity that has come about through the merging of three previously distinct parishes into one new and diverse community.

Father Mark Thomas Ameh, the pastor when the parishes merged and a native of Nigeria, arrived at the parish in July 2023 after previously ministering in Las Vegas. He told EWTN…