Help Us Celebrate the Hennessys

For the 2022 Augustinian Gala the Midwest Province selected Ed and Catharine Hennessy as our lay honorees! You can express your your appreciation for this family and all they have done for the Province, St. Rita High School, and the Missions in Peru in many ways:

• Attend the Gala !

• Sign up for one of our major sponsorships

• Place a congratulatory ad in our evening Program Book

• Make a donation in their honor, which will be listed online and in our Program Book

The Hennessys share a family history with the Augustinians of over 100 years, dating back to 1920 when Ed Hennessy’s grandfather, Bernard Hennessy immigrated to America from Kildare County Ireland. Upon Bernard’s arrival on the east coast, he first found work and residence with the Augustinians on the Villanova College farm. The assistance from these friars eventually allowed him to move to Chicago where he began a family and raised 10 children.

Leo Hennessy, Ed’s father, became a teacher and coach at Mendel Catholic, where he formed a close bond with Fr. John McNabb, O.S.A. (later to become Bishop McNabb, of Chulucanas). Ed remembers from a young age how his parents, Leo and Helen, hosted Bishop McNabb in their home, as he became a friend and spiritual mentor to the family. In fact, when Leo and Helen got engaged, they brought the good news to Bishop McNabb even before their own family!

When Bishop McNabb was assigned to serve in the Midwest Province’s missions in Chulucanas, Peru, Leo and Helen organized a group of supporters. Over a period of 40 years, , Leo, Helen, and their friends threw “Chulucanas Mission Club” fundraisers to support Bishop John McNabb.  Ed and his brothers and sisters were on hand at every fundraiser and assisted in all jobs.  Eventually, Ed and his brothers and sisters began to throw a second party every year that they called the Bishop’s Bash fundraiser, consisting of the children of those who began the Chulucanas Mission Club. 

Ed Hennessy, one of seven children of Leo and Helen, is a graduate of Quigley South High School and Northern Illinois University. Following college, he studied at Cooley Law School in Michigan, graduating with his J.D. in 1993. He then began to practice law with his brother Tom and his law partner, Jim Roach at Hennessy & Roach Law Firm, where he became partner in 1999.

In 1994, Ed met his wife Catharine Mullen who was Bill and Marie Mullen’s second of seven children.  Catharine was born and spent the majority of her grade school years in the Philadelphia area.  Catharine’s aunt and uncle are both graduates of Villanova University.  Her mother’s first cousin, Fr. Frank Anastasi, was a priest and teacher at Villanova until he left to care for his elderly mother.  Catharine first came to Illinois when her father received a job transfer to Chicago in 1982. When Catharine met Ed, she was a graduate of Illinois State University and Chicago Kent Law School who was practicing law as a Labor and Employment attorney for the City of Chicago. She served as Assistant Commissioner with the City of Chicago’s Department of Streets and Sanitation from 2008 to 2021.

Catharine became involved with the Chulucanas Mission Club when she and Ed were first dating. In 1995, Bishop McNabb celebrated the wedding mass for Ed and Catharine Hennessy, just as he had with Ed’s parents 39 years before.  After they were married, Ed and Catharine remained committed and involved in the planning and running of the Chulucanas Mission Club Fundraiser. Catharine organized and ran the silent auction for the fundraiser for five of the last years it was held.  

In recognition of their generous support of the Midwest Augustinians, Ed and Catharine were invited to join the Province’s Advancement Council in 2016. They helped the Advancement office through two successful capital campaigns and were chairs of the 2016 Augustinian Gala Committee. Our regular Gala attendees will remember the outstanding work they did leading the fundraising appeal at our last in-person Gala in 2019! As we adapted to the pandemic and went virtual through 2021, it was again Catharine who volunteered to emcee our first Virtual Gala in April and our first Virtual Christmas party in December. On the Feast of St. Augustine, 2021, Prior Provincial Fr. Tony Pizzo, O.S.A. welcomed in the couple as Affiliates of the Augustinian Order.