Shem Center for Interfaith Spirituality
Joseph Kilikevice, Director Emeritus
Steven G. Miller, Acting Director

Joseph Kilikevice O.P.
Director Emeritus
Shem Center for Interfaith Spirituality
Pope Leo XIV — His message comes from the heart.

Friends, here are some thoughtful words from the newly elected Pope Leo XIV.
Br. Joseph Kilikevice, OP
BREAKING: May 11, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Brothers, sisters…
I speak to you, especially to those who no longer believe, no longer hope, no longer pray, because they think God has left.
To those who are fed up with scandals, with misused power, with the silence of a Church that sometimes seems more like a palace than a home.
I, too, was angry with God. I, too, saw good people die, children suffer, grandparents cry without medicine. And yes… there were days when I prayed and only felt an echo.
But then I discovered something: God doesn't shout. God whispers. And sometimes He whispers from the mud, from pain, from a grandmother who feeds you without having anything.
I don't come to offer you perfect faith. I come to tell you that faith is a walk with stones, puddles, and unexpected hugs.
I'm not asking you to believe in everything. I'm asking you not to close the door. Give a chance to the God who waits for you without judgment.
I'm just a priest who saw God in the smile of a woman who lost her son... and yet she cooked for others.
That changed me.
So if you're broken, if you don't believe, if you're tired of the lies... come anyway. With your anger, your doubt, your dirty backpack. No one here will ask you for a VIP card.
Because this Church, as long as I breathe, will be a home for the homeless, and a rest for the weary.
God doesn't need soldiers. He needs brothers.
And you, yes, you... are one of them.
— Pope Leo XIV
From the Director Archive
An Easter message — 2023 — Be unbound and go free!
Dear friends,
My Easter message this year lingers on the exquisite and detailed Gospel narrative that the Church has us reflect upon the Sunday before Holy Week. It is a story found in the Gospel of John, 11:1-41, the rising of Lazarus, a close friend of Jesus. There is much to discover in the story as it unfolds with the words of Martha and Mary, the sisters of Lazarus, the remarks by the crowd that gathers at the burial cave of Lazarus, and the words of Jesus.
Read MoreDear friends,
I recently received two letters from my Dominican Brother Jaroslaw in Ukraine. As our national news continues to be dominated by a politics of revenge, there are the very moving human stories I receive from my Dominican religious family in Ukraine, the brothers, priests, sisters and laity who choose to remain in harm’s way to be with the people. We get glimpses of these people walking past bombed out buildings as images from Ukraine make their way onto our nightly TV news.
Read MoreShem Center 2022 Year-end Letter
Dear friends,
All are welcomed into Shem Center’s Circle of Respect — people of all faith traditions, spiritual paths, those who claim none and those who may be searching for one.
Read MoreShem Center for Interfaith Spirituality
708 North Harvey Avenue
Oak Park, IL 60302
(708) 848-1095
shemcenter1993@gmail.com
Photo Credits: Emory Mead, Stephen B. Starr, Joseph Kilikevice
The Shem Center for Interfaith Spirituality website is awarded a 2022 American Digital Design Award for excellence in design and user experience.
