from Late Nite Catechism

National awareness drive
has raised more than $1 million

As part of its national drive to collect retirement funds for nuns across America, the Chicago headquarters of Late Nite Catechism recently totaled its 2003 donations: roughly

$ 85,000 given last year to orders in the Chicago area and in other parts of Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, and Iowa. That doesn’t include a successful fundraising drive that helped raise money for a much needed van for one Chicago-area order.

Since the show opened in 1993, its creators and cast have collected funds after each performance and the total to date is nearly $ 380,000 for Chicago area orders of nuns and more than $1 million nationwide.

The 2003 total includes almost $ 25,000 for the Benedictine Sisters of Chicago, who operate St. Scholastica High School in Rogers Park, and about $ 25,500 for the Sisters of St. Joseph, who have their Mother House in Bartlett.

The Sisters of the Living Word, in Arlington Heights, received about $ 6,300 and help in raising funds for a handicapped-accessible van. The Sisters of St. Francis in Mishawaka, Indiana, received just over $ 2,500. In Wisconsin, the School Sisters of Notre Dame received just over

$ 2,600. A host of other religious orders, the largest number helped in any year by Late Nite Catechism, received the rest of the donations. A complete list is at the end of this press release.

The money is collected after each performance in the Chicago area productions, and at church benefits, by the actresses who play the character of Sister: Cynthia Desmond, Lynda Shadrake, Liz Cloud, Patricia Musker, Lisa Braatz, and Margaret Kustermann. Theatergoers are asked to donate to help the nuns.

The money is then sent to the orders by Vicki Quade and Maripat Donovan, creators and producers of the show, Late Nite Catechism. Every dollar collected gets donated. No expenses are taken out of that money.

The Sisters, who receive the bare minimum of Social Security and Medicare for their own retirement expenses, use the money to defray expenses in their infirmaries. The retirement expenses of the various orders of nuns are not covered by the Archdiocese of Chicago.

Quade and Donovan opened their hit show in 1993. Since then, more than $ 1 million from the Late Nite Catechism collections has gone to help nuns across America. The show currently has productions in Chicago, Naperville, Arlington Heights, Milwaukee, Los Angeles, Scottsdale, Seattle, and a host of smaller cities.

In addition, their web site, www.latenitecatechism.info, can be used by Sisters nationwide to post individual requests for needed items.

For more information about tickets to Late Nite Catechism, call the Royal George Theatre in Chicago at 312/988-9000, or Crossroads Theater in Naperville at 630/428-4730.

Local nuns receive more than $116,000

from Late Nite Catechism

Local orders part of national awareness drive that
has raised more than $800,000

Since the show opened in 1993, its creators and cast have collected funds after each performance and the total to date is more than $175,000 for Chicago orders of nuns and $800,000 nationwide.

The 2001 total includes just over $34,500 for the Benedictine Sisters of Chicago, who operate St. Scholastica High School in Rogers Park, and $29,300 for the Sisters of St. Joseph, who have their Mother House in Bartlett.

In addition, nearly $32,000 went to the Sisters of Providence in St. Mary of the Woods, Indiana. Another $20,000 went to the School Sisters of Notre Dame, who for years operated the Academy of Our Lady High School in Beverly.

Two smaller collections netted $600 for the Sisters of St. Joseph in Lemont and $200 for the Mercy Nuns in Chicago.

In addition, just over $4,000 was donated by the show in September to the American Red Cross after the terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania.

The money is collected after each performance in the Chicago and Aurora productions, and at church benefits, by the actresses who play the character of Sister: Mary McHale, Cynthia Desmond, Lynda Shadrake, Margaret Kustermann, Tina Thuerwachter, and Mary Zentmyer. Theatergoers are asked to donate to help the nuns.

The money is then donated by Vicki Quade and Maripat Donovan, creators and producers of the show, Late Nite Catechism. Every dollar collected gets donated. No expenses are taken out of that money.

The Sisters, who receive the bare minimum of Social Security and Medicare for their own retirement expenses, will use the money to defray expenses in their infirmary. The retirement expenses of the various orders of nuns are not covered by the Archdiocese of Chicago.

Quade and Donovan opened their hit show in 1993, and began collecting for the nuns in 1997. In the past five years, the play’s various productions have collected and donated more than $ 600,000 to help nuns across America. The show currently has productions in Chicago, Aurora, New York, Seattle, New Orleans, Scottsdale, Los Angeles, San Francisco, St. Louis, and Vancouver.

For more information about tickets to Late Nite Catechism, call the Royal George Theatre in Chicago at 312/988-9000, or the Copley Theater in Aurora at 630/896-6666.

Religious Orders in Chicago who have
received money from Late Nite Catechism

Benedictine Sisters of Chicago.................$58,625.40

Sisters of St. Joseph, Bartlett....................$36,844.93

School Sisters of Notre Dame...................$20,000

Sisters of St. Joseph of LaGrange.............$14,500

Carmelite Sisters of Naperville.................$10,000

Mercy Nuns, Chicago...............................$ 3,297

Sisters of St. Joseph, Lemont....................$ 600

Sisters of Providence, Indiana.................$31,391.13

American Red Cross................................$ 4,155.86 *

*Donated following the tragedies of 9/11/01