Restoring the sacred in downtown Chicago

Father Joshua Caswell is the superior general of the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius, pastor of Chicago’s St. John Cantius Church, and chaplain of Legatus’ Downtown Chicago Chapter. He grew up in a Pentecostal family; his mother, Gay Caswell, was a member of the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly before heading to a remote Indian reservation in northern Saskatchewan with the family to found a Bible camp. The aboriginal people, however, introduced the rosary to the Caswells, after which they began attending Mass at a Catholic chapel and eventually converted to Catholicism.

Internet research led Joshua to find the Canons Regular, so he called and spoke to the community’s founder, Fr. Frank Phillips, and entered the community. Along with his brother, Nathan Caswell, Fr. Joshua was ordained a priest for the community by Cardinal Francis George in 2014. He was “shocked” to be elected the community’s second superior in 2019.

What do you think your Pentecostal upbringing has brought to your priesthood?

My Pentecostal upbringing established in me a great foundation for personal encounters with Christ and for listening to the Holy Spirit. There can be a deeper appreciation of the work of the Holy Spirit— even in administering the sacraments and the traditional liturgy. I have found that these are not exclusive of each other but can and do support one another.

What does your community bring to the Church?

The charism of the Canons Regular, “To Restore the Sacred,” renews our Church in a special way at a crucial time. Too many Catholics are too uninformed and too misinformed about what they believe. Too many Americans call themselves “none” or “none of the above” when asked about religious affiliation. That’s because too many houses of worship have tried to stay relevant by pretending to be things they’re not, getting too political or trying to entertain. More and more of our youth crave authentic spirituality. They can be entertained or get their politics elsewhere. That’s why more and more young people are attracted to what’s come to be known as “the smells and bells.”

Enter St. John Cantius Church. Ours looks like a church, smells like a church, sounds like a church—it is a church. If more shepherds in our Church were to adopt and amplify our approach, they’d begin to see the pews fill up like ours.

What positive influence do you believe the Canons Regular have made on Chicago?

When our founder arrived at St. John Cantius Church, it was visited by more pigeons than people. Since then, the parish has grown to more than 2,000 families—and we’re still growing. When I think of just how ugly our church’s surroundings used to be, I think of Dostoevsky’s great hope that beauty will save the world. Our mission to restore the sacred in all things and in all people often means elevating the beauty in art, in music, in work, and more. Beauty—the sacred—spreads throughout our community and beyond.

Your parish offers the old Tridentine liturgy as well as the New Mass. What value do you think the old Latin liturgy brings to the Church? The Church has always taught: lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi. That is to say, “as we pray, so we believe, and so we live.” So when the sacred liturgy is offered and prayed well, it forms beliefs and guides how we live. The Tridentine liturgy is a touchstone to a time when we understood how to worship God well. It is ever ancient, ever new. The Tridentine Mass offered alongside the new liturgy has been a powerful tool for evangelization and for catechesis in the faith.