About Us

Our Mission

In July 2016, Cardinal Cupich announced the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Renew My Church initiative, an important step for the Church to reimagine, dream and plan for the future as a vital member of the community. Our goal is to always serve the Catholic community in Cook and Lake Counties in a way that meets their needs and recognizes the changes in culture and demographics that impact us all.

With that, we are excited to share and welcome you to the Department for Parish Vitality and Mission (DPVM) website.

What is DPVM?

The Department for Parish Vitality and Mission, or DPVM, is the result of our planning as we further understand and identify the best ways to provide value to our local communities.

As we continue to dream big for the Archdiocese of Chicago, we saw an opportunity to streamline efforts to more efficiently and effectively serve in the communities where we live and work. We brought together eleven offices into four, expanded the roles of Vicariate teams in our parishes, and we worked to ensure every foreseeable need and want of our people are met with the offerings of the DPVM’s four offices. We are thrilled as our teams thrive in their first year of operation.

With that said, it’s important to note the services you once associated with offices like the Department of Parish Life and Formation are still readily accessible within our new internal structure. Our talented teams are ready and able to serve you in a way that is more consistent and stronger than ever before.

The work of renewal is always a work in progress. As we reimagine how we operate as a Pastoral Department of the Archdiocese, we challenge all our parishes to think critically about how they can become even better in furthering the mission of Jesus in their communities. Thank you for visiting our new site, and we look forward to any feedback you would like to share.

Our Offices

The DPVM is broken down into offices. See below for a description of each and what services each takes on from prior departments.

Office for Evangelization and Missionary Discipleship
The Office for Evangelization and Missionary Discipleship serves parishes in their mission to bring people to and lead people in deepening encounters with Christ.

This office includes the former Office for the New Evangelization and the Office of Biblical Formation.

Office of Lifelong Formation
The mission of the Office of Lifelong Formation is to support, accompany and equip our parish and Catholic school lay leadership and their ministries to empower all members of the Church with a lifelong process that inspires and deepens faith and relationships with Christ.

This office includes services associated with Marriage and Family Ministries, Catechesis, and Youth and Young Adult Ministry.

Office for Divine Worship
The Office for Divine Worship assists Cardinal Cupich in implementing the vision of the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy and all subsequent norms issued for Catholic worship, and helps parishes to encounter Christ through the liturgy and receive nourishment through prayer, worship, and the feasts and seasons of the liturgical year.

This office works in collaboration with the Liturgy Training Publications.

Office of Human Dignity and Solidarity
The mission of the Office of Human Dignity and Solidarity is to form and accompany the people of the Archdiocese of Chicago to respond to the Gospel call, to recognize the dignity of all life, and to be in solidarity with our sisters and brothers on the margins.

This office includes the Respect Life Office, the Office for Immigrant Affairs and Immigration Education, the Office for Peace and Justice, Domestic Violence Ministry, Kolbe House Jail Ministry and Amate House.

Office of Young Adult Engagement
The Young Adult Engagement Team (YAET) is the Archdiocese of Chicago’s outreach to young adults who are not currently engaged with the Church or the practice of the Faith, which studies say is a majority of the current generation. Their role is to find creative ways to reach out to young adults where they are and build the bridges necessary for a renewed or new relationship with Jesus and His Church. The team’s goal is to create attractive Christian communities that invite disengaged young adults in Chicago to experience Jesus Christ and His unconditional love for them. It embodies Cardinal Cupich’s vision of Renew My Church to make disciples, build communities, and inspire witness in the next generations so the Church may thrive and perdure for generations to come.

Mission Office
The Mission Office, also known as the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, looks to educate and inspire people to take seriously their baptismal responsibility to be on mission in whatever context they live and work. The office is at the service of the worldwide Church while remaining firmly rooted in the Archdiocese of Chicago. It also serves as the local representative for the Pontifical Mission Societies.