In your prayers, please remember Father Mark Fracaro who passed from this life on Sept. 6.
Mark Anthony Fracaro was born in Joliet on Nov. 6, 1941, to Anthony Joseph Fracaro and Sofia DeMonja Fracaro. He was baptized at St. Dennis Church in Lockport, and attended St. Dennis Elementary School. After attending Quigley Preparatory school in Chicago, Joliet Junior College in Joliet, and St. Mary Seminary in Baltimore, Mark was ordained to the priesthood on May 27, 1967, by Bishop Romeo R. Blanchette at the Cathedral of St. Raymond in Joliet.
Father Fracaro’s first assignment was at Ss. Peter & Paul Parish in Naperville. He then was appointed chaplain at St. Francis Academy in Joliet (1971) and resided at St. Ambrose Parish in Crest Hill. Following that, he became associate pastor at St. Scholastica Parish in Woodridge (1976). Two years later, he was named director of the School of Catechetics at Illinois Benedictine College (1978). He moved his residence from St. Scholastica Parish to St. Joseph Parish in Downers Grove (1979). He then became an associate pastor at Visitation Parish in Elmhurst (1982).
Father Fracaro was named pastor of the following parishes: St. Rose Parish in Wilmington (1984); St. Jude Parish in Joliet (1989); St. Joseph Parish in Manteno (1995) and St. Mary Parish in Minooka (1998).
In 2012, Father Fracaro retired and served as senior priest at St. Dennis Parish in Lockport. In addition to his pastoral responsibilities, Father Fracaro served as diocesan director for the Apostolate of the Deaf and Hearing Impaired (1993 – 2016).
The body of Father Fracaro will lie in state at St. Dennis Church in Lockport on Sept. 11, from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m., with a vigil service at 7:15 p.m., and on Sept. 12, from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Dennis Church in Lockport on Sept. 12 at 11 a.m.
