French Nuns Without Heat Grateful For Offers Of Help
(CBS) -- Some French nuns on Chicago's West Side are feeling the warmth of donations and good will as they continue to struggle with the heat in their church.
It's still pretty chilly in parts of Fraternite Notre Dame in the Austin neighborhood, but Sister Marie Valerie says things are getting warmer.
She says it was still 32 degrees in the church this morning. Not exactly toasty but warmer than yesterday's 27 degrees.
Sister Marie says she doesn't know the exact temperature but says the nun's sleeping quarters are warmer than that.
A company has brought in a diesel generator to pump in warm air, while crews are working on patching up the boilers and people have donated space heaters, she says.
Sister Marie isn't sure how much they've received in cash donations but is grateful they're making progress on what she's told is a $200,000 cost to buy new boilers and make other repairs.
One of the boilers stopped working two weeks ago and the other one died on Wednesday.
The sisters were still able to feed about 200 homeless people yesterday. Sister Marie says they don't have any feeding programs on the weekends but they'll be back at it on Monday.
As for weekend events, she says they typically have a peace program today but they've cancelled it because of the cold.
To make a donation to the church, you can email Sister Marie Valerie at SainteMFaustine@aol.com. Or you can contact Fraternite Notre Dame at 773-261-0101, or at 502 N. Central Av., Chicago, IL, 60644. The church's email is info@fraternitenotredame.org
Donations to the church also can be made through PayPal by clicking here.