Cupich Removes Southwest Side Pastor After Adult Complaint
A Saturday letter stresses no minor is involved; an interim administrator will lead Blessed Sacrament during evaluation.
Cardinal Blase Cupich has temporarily removed Fr. Samson Mukundi from ministry as pastor of Blessed Sacrament Parish in the McKinley Park neighborhood on Chicago’s Southwest Side after a complaint alleging inappropriate physical contact and boundary violations involving an adult.
In a letter to the parish dated Saturday, October 31, Cupich stated that the accusations do not involve any minor. “The concerns raised are serious and merit careful attention and appropriate action,” he wrote.
The archdiocese said the complaint is under investigation and that the cardinal has ordered Mukundi to undergo a period of evaluation. Fr. Deogratias Mbonyumugenzi, pastor of St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, has been named interim administrator of Blessed Sacrament during Mukundi’s absence.
Notice to former parishes
The archdiocese has also written to the four parishes where Mukundi previously served—Jesus, Bread of Life in Logan Square; St. Benedict the African in Englewood; St. Gilbert in Grayslake; and St. John Neumann in Homewood—so that their parishioners know of the complaint and the decision.
Earlier personnel moves
The case comes after other removals in the Archdiocese of Chicago. In July, Cupich removed priest and activist Michael Pfleger after a complaint of alleged abuse of a minor, and in late August reinstated him after the Independent Review Board concluded there is “no reason to believe” he is guilty. In October 2025, Cupich also removed the pastor of Little Flower Parish in Waukegan after complaints of inappropriate sexual conduct with adult seminarians.
No public response from Fr. Mukundi appears in the available material. The archdiocese has described the step as temporary, pending evaluation and the ongoing review of the adult complaint.