A steady stream of friends, well-wishers, grateful readers, and Chicago-area priests and religious offered their respects to Greeley family members Tuesday at Christ the King Church on the South Side of Chicago. Greeley died May 30 at the age of 85.
Christ the King parish was his first assignment as a young Chicago priest.
For some five hours Tuesday, visitors to the parish church could hear the steady sound of reverently muffled voices, punctuated by occasional outbursts of laughter, as they shared stories about Greeley, many about the way the priest, as a friend, confessor and novelist, had touched, and as often changed, their lives.
On a church wall above the pews, a young Greeley is forever captured in a mosaic listening attentively to Pope Pius XI proclaiming the feast of Christ the King, after which the parish is named.
The Mass of Resurrection is scheduled for noon Wednesday at the church (9235 S. Hamilton Ave.) with further visitations taking place Wednesday morning.