Parish Staff
Priests and Deacons
All members of the Church are called to service as disciples of Christ. Charity begins at home then to the community, the parish, at work and in the world.
Father Prist Reverend Wayne F. Prist, pastor emeritus
Father Wayne Prist was ordained a priest in 1967. His first assignment was as Associate Pastor of St. Giles in Oak Park, Illinois. In 1975 he was assigned to St. John Berchmans in Chicago. In addition to this assignment, Fr. Prist served as an archdiocesan television producer and Associate to the Center for Pastoral Ministry. For seven years Fr. Prist produced a weekly show on NBC. He founded the Summer Scripture Seminary at the University of St. Mary of the Lake, a program which he directed for 22 years.

In 1983 Cardinal Bernardin appointed him Director of the Center for Pastoral Ministry which moved in 1986 to the St. Mary of the Lake campus and evolved into the Center for Development in Ministry. Father Prist oversaw the renovation of the campus and served as the Director of the Center for Development in Ministry for 10 years. The Center for Development in Ministry served as the Archdiocesan host and resource for the development of all its Pastoral Ministries.

In February 1996 Cardinal Bernardin appointed Fr. Prist Pastor of Queen of All Saints Basilica. In September of 1997 Francis Cardinal George appointed Fr. Prist as Chairman of the Archdiocesan Millennium Committee, a responsibility he had until 2001.
Reverend Simon Braganza, associate pastor My name is Simon Francis Braganza. I am from the Archdiocese of Hyderabad in South Central India. I was ordained a priest in 1992. My first appointment was to St. Mary’s School, the very school I attended. There were 3000 children in the school of which 300 were in the boarding home attached to the school. After three years in the school, I was briefly the secretary to the Archbishop and then an associate pastor for two months and a pastor for 15 months. Following which I was sent to continue my studies in the sacred scriptures. After working for seven years in my diocese, I came to Chicago in August 1999. The first three years I was assigned to St. Henry Church, next to Misericordia. The last seven years I served at St. Tarcissus Church.

As I accept the assignment to be part of the ministry here at Queen of All Saints, I am both nervous and excited. I have heard of the wonderful things that happen here and I am thrilled to know that I will be part of the unique experience that is Queens. I look forward to sharing my gifts with you and growing both as a human person and as a priest.
Reverend Arkadiusz Falana, associate pastor
When I think about God’s call in my life to become a priest, my memory takes me back to when I was six years old. Since that time God has been asking me to follow Him. Each step that I have made in my life is the continuation of that journey toward the Lord’s altar. Because of my love of God as a young boy I decided to become an altar server in my home parish, that is Holy Trinity Church in Luban, which is located in the southwest part of Poland. After high school graduation, I was invited by my uncle to come to Chicago. Thus, in 1996, I decided to leave my parents and two younger brothers and come to the Windy City. After a few months of my stay in Chicago I heard about the great need for priests in our Archdiocese. That is why, instead of going back to Poland and entering the seminary system there, I decided to enter the seminary system of our Archdiocese. In 1998, I decided to respond to God’s call by entering Saint Joseph College Seminary at Loyola University, where after four years I received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy. In May of 2006 I completed my theology studies and prepared for Priesthood ordination.

I began my deacon ministry at Queen of All Saints Basilica in March, 2006, which lasted until the end of April. I was ordained a priest at Holy Name Cathedral on May 20th, and through the generosity of our pastor and parish staff, one week later I celebrated my first Mass of Thanksgiving at the Basilica.

I ask for your prayers for me and newly ordained brother priests at the beginning of the priestly ministry. Mary, Queen of All Saints, pray for us!
Reverend Ed Grace, resident Greetings from the second newest resident of Queen of All Saints Rectory. My name is Father Edward D. Grace. I was born in 1942. I began school at Resurrection on the West Side, graduated from St. Angela, continued my education at Quigley Preparatory Seminary, and then went on to study Philosophy and Theology at St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein. I was ordained in 1967. My first assignment was to St. Edna Parish in Arlington Heights. In 1974 I became associate pastor of St. Peter Parish in Skokie. In 1981 I was assigned to St. Francis Borgia Parish in Chicago and in February, 1992 I returned to the scene of some youthful adventures when I was named pastor of St. Peter Parish in Skokie. As you can see, aside from picking up a Law degree from DePaul University, my life has been that of a typical parish priest. That ended in June of this year when Cardinal George, for reasons best known to himself, appointed me Vicar for Priests of the Archdiocese of Chicago.

The assignment as Vicar for Priests is a full time office position. This means that while I am Vicar, I will not be assigned as a pastor or associate pastor of some parish in the diocese. I do, however, still need a place to live. Father Prist, a classmate and close friend, was kind enough to offer me residence at Queen of All Saints. I was happy to accept his kind offer.

Father Prist and I are friends and Queen of All Saints will be a convenient place for me to stay. But there is a factor that is much more important that the comfort of friendship and a convenient location. Queen of All Saints is a place where I can continue to be a parish priest. I have been a parish priest for more than 37 years now, and would not like to live apart from a parish. I am looking forward to becoming part of the Queen of All Saints Parish Community. I am looking forward to participating in the life of the parish to the extent that my responsibilities as Vicar for Priests allow. We diocesan priests are, after all, meant to be parish priests. From time to time one or another of us must undertake some full time central office responsibility, but parish life is really what we are meant for, and it is parish life that is essential to our calling. This is the most significant reason that I look forward to becoming a resident at Queen of All Saints.
Mr. Michael J. Monnelly, deacon
Rev. Mr. Michael J. Monnelly and his wife Louise moved into Queen of All Saints in 1971. They have three daughters and a son. Deacon Monnelly was ordained for the diaconate of the Chicago Archdiocese in 1982. He served the parish of Queen of All Saints since his ordination. Deacon Monnelly received a Masters Degree in Pastoral Studies from Loyola University of Chicago, Institute of Pastoral Studies, where he is currently a candidate for the Masters Degree in Social Justice. Deacon Monnelly's parish responsibilities include parent orientation sessions for infant Baptism, infant Baptism, Scripture Study, JustFaith, and Workshops on Ethnic and Racial Diversity.