Father Jerry Rafalko touched many lives in Kewanee, both as pastor of Holy Trinity Polish National Catholic Church and as chaplain for the local hospice program.
On Wednesday, friends of Father Jerry, as he was known here, gathered at OSF Saint Luke Medical Center for the dedication of a new bench that has been installed in his honor.
Father Jerry had served as Holy Trinity’s pastor for a number of years before becoming involved with the hospice program in 1999. In that capacity, he counseled and consoled many families who were about to lose loved ones.
In 2020, Father Jerry was named bishop of the Western Diocese, and moved to Chicago. There, he also was pastor of All Saints Cathedral.
He passed away last July 13 at the age of 68.
On Wednesday, friends and parishioners of Father Jerry gathered at Saint Luke to pay him tribute, and to dedicate the bench that has been placed outside the medical center as a memorial to him.
Father Jerry’s wife, Leslie, spoke at the dedication ceremony. She said her husband had “touched many, many lives in Kewanee and around here.”
He “sees the entire community as his congregation,” she said.
A conference room at the medical center was filled with Father Jerry’s friends, and Leslie said that turnout was “a testament to how many lives he touched.”
The group moved outdoors to where the bench had been placed. There, Pastor Ghislain Irai conducted a brief service to bless the new addition near the walkway.
Abigail McCall of the emergency department at Saint Luke said the entire staff of the department — including the doctors from EPSS who staff the department — had contributed to purchase the bench.
