Fr. Larry Dowling, M.Div, D.Min.

Fr. Larry Dowling, ordained in 1991, retired on June 30, 2024 as 18-yr pastor of St. Simon of Cyrene Parish (locations at St. Agatha & St. Martin de Porres Churches), a predominantly African American parish on Chicago’s west side. He has served as pastor of St. Denis Parish and as Associate Pastor at St. James in Arlington Heights, IL. He has a passion for healing and restoration of spirit, mind and body of those who have suffered trauma from the multiple ongoing manifestations of systemic racism. He helped establish a free mental health center, the Encompassing Center, for the Chicago West Side community. He served on the Steering Committee to create the first Restorative Justice Community Court in Cook County. He is a founding member of the Archdiocesan Healing Garden Committee, a coalition of clergy and victim-survivors of child and youth sexual abuse. He is former President of the Board for ARISE Chicago, an interfaith labor rights organization.

His justice work includes:

  • Moderator of the 150 member Priests for Justice for Immigrants in Chicago;Advisory Board chair for the Archdiocesan effort to respond to the men, women and children seeking asylum.
  • Advisory Board member for Parenting for Non-Violence (P4NV) in Chicago; a
  • Board member of the Tolton Black Scholars Advisory Board at Catholic Theological Union.
  • Board President of the ACTA Foundation, promoting innovative adult Catholic teaching and formation programs addressing current societal problems.
  • Board Member of the Friends of PACTPAN, the Pan-African Catholic Theology and Pastoral Network which coordinates 7 major programs empowering youth, young adults and women on the African continent.
  • Board Member of Men Making a Difference (M.M.A.D.) in North Lawndale, Chicago.
  • Board Member of the Illinois Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums.
  • Board Member of CodeSwitchers LLC, collaborating with Executive Director Deontay Wilson to produce documentary projects focused on the Black community and pan-African connections.

He is a trained Restorative Justice practitioner, published writer, speaker and avid reader and hiker.