Rev.
Dominic Grassi was ordained for the Archdiocese of Chicago in May of 1973. He was awarded his Bachelor's Degree in literature
from Niles College of Loyola University and his Master's Degree Cum Laude from St. Mary of
the Lake Seminary. He has pursued further
graduate work at Loyola University in Education and Guidance and Counseling. Prior to his ordination he was on the faculty of
Carmel High School for girls. Both before and
after his ordination he served as an associate chaplain at the Arthur J. Audy Home
Detention Center for Youth. His past
assignments include being associate pastor at St. John De La Salle Parish and for 13 years
on the faculty of Quigley Seminary South High School where he taught religion, speech, and
media studies. At Quigley, he was a guidance
counselor; developed several religion programs, retreat formats; and coached soccer. He was instrumental in developing a four-year
vocation development program, which he presented in a formal two-hour report at the
National Catholic Education Association convention (Anaheim, CA). While at Quigley, he was chairperson of the
Religious Education Department and later held an administrative position as Dean of
Vocation Development. He is a member of
Archbishop Quigley's Board of Advisors, and co-chaired one of Quigley's Benefit Dinners.Fr. Grassi served on evaluation teams for the North Central Evaluation Program of Secondary Schools and has taught in both the Deacon Training Program and the Lay Ministry Training Program of the Archdiocese of Chicago. He continues to give retreats, missions, days of recollection and talks at many parishes and to many groups in the Archdiocese of Chicago and throughout the United States. For eight years he presented a series of lectures as part of the Theology on Tap program for young adults. He has been the associate editor of "Upturn," the journal of the Association of Chicago Priests, a group of 450 priests of which he is past chairperson.
His work as pastor has been featured in an article in "The Call to Action Newsletter," on WGN and PBS television, and in Tim Unsworth's book The Last Priests in America. Fr. Grassi writes monthly for Prepare the Word, a homily subscription service for priests and has written articles for many publications including Critic magazine and U.S. Catholic. In 1991, he published the much acclaimed book, Do You Love Me? that explores ministry in the Catholic church and in 1999 published Bumping Into God: 35 Stories of Finding God In Unexpected Places. One reviewer called him "a cross between Jerry Garcia and Phil Jackson. A sequel, Bumping Into God, Again: 35 More Stories of Finding God in Unexpected Places, was published in March 2001. Loyola Press published his latest book in September 2003, Still Called By Name - Why I Love Being A Priest.
Fr. Grassi's greatest love remains being pastor of St. Josaphat Parish on the north side of Chicago where he has served for the past sixteen years. The parish's motto: "A Church to Come Home To," has become a reality for thousands of parishioners. He is a member of Lincoln Park Neighbors for Peace and a founding member of United Power for Action and Justice (the largest network of community organizing in the Chicagoland area). In his spare time he enjoys reading and writing on a variety of topics and cooking.