The tale of the church sheep at St. Francis Xavier in Joliet

JOLIET – You’ve heard of church mice? Well, meet the church sheep.

These lifelike sheep are strategically posed on the grounds of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, 2500 Arbeiter Road in Joliet. But despite the planning in their arrangements, the church didn’t intend to acquire so many.

“When people come into church, the first thing they want to know, ‘What are the sheep up to?’ ” St. Xavier’s pastor, the Rev. Karl Langsdorf said.

Really all Langsdorf wanted was an outdoor Nativity scene, he said. But after he bought one around Christmas time last year, a parishioner said to him, “But, Father! It has no sheep.”

“So then I said to the people, ‘Let’s see if we can get some sheep,’ ” Langsdorf said. “So parishioners got volunteers to buy sheep and then someone else bought sheep and then someone bought a few more sheep.”

After the holidays, when Langsdorf was packing up the Nativity scene, he thought to himself, “Well, we’re on 15 acres and it’s open. Instead of putting the sheep away, let’s just move them around the grounds.”

Langsdorf said this whim became a “Where has Father put the sheep?” game with the children of St. Francis Xavier. In April, the church held a dinner dance and raffled off “Shepherd of the Month.”

This passed the responsibility of moving the sheep from Langsdorf to the church’s families, one family per month.

“The first family that took up the task was very creative,” Langsdorf said. “Suddenly the sheep were doing all kinds of goofy things – climbing trees and playing football. One family brought in their canoe and they have sheep sitting in that. The week before that [the sheep] were picking apples on trees that aren’t apple trees, but a created scene.”

Positioning the sheep has strengthened the communal sense in the 560-family parish. It’s also been good for the sheep, who certainly aren’t lonely. Langsdorf surmises the church has 16 sheep, but he isn’t certain.

“During the summer, someone went out and bought more sheep,” Langsdorf said.

Updates on the sheep's doings are posted on St. Francis Xavier's Facebook page. Langsdorf has no idea if St. Francis Xavier, a missionary to Asia, would approve of the sheep's role, but he feels anything that builds community would be fine with the saint.

Building community is a prime focus for the Joliet church, especially when it comes together to feed the hungry. Members routinely donate nonperishable food to Bags of Hope, which helps feed low-income children in Lockport, Langsdorf said.

During Lent, the church collects donations from its members to help low-income people in Kendall County, Langsdorf said. St. Francis Xavier parishioners also volunteer at Daybreak Center in Joliet, he added.

“All those little things are connected. They are things that build community,” Langsdorf said. “We’re not just closed into ourselves. We’re trying to look out into our world and reach out to others in the wider community.”

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For information on St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Joliet, visit st-francis-xavier.org