Hundreds Rally In Support Of Principal For Defying Mask Mandate

EVERGREEN PARK, IL — Hundreds gathered Tuesday afternoon to rally in front of Queen of Martyrs School in support of their popular principal – Jacob “Doc” Mathius, who was placed on administrative leave for defying the governor’s face mask order.

Mathius, without the authority of the Archdiocese of Chicago, emailed parents Monday evening informing them that the school would become “mask optional” following a downstate judge’s temporary restraining order blocking Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s mandate requiring face masks to be worn inside school buildings.

The judge’s order has been appealed by the Illinois Attorney General on Pritzker’s behalf, in response to a lawsuit filed by 150 public school districts, parents and students. The governor, as well as the archdiocese, has stated that the judge’s ruling only applies to the parties named in the lawsuit.

A copy of the principal's email shared with Patch by a Queen of Martyrs parent, stated that, "Independent of the mandate placed upon schools that operate under the auspices of the Office of the Catholic Schools and Archdiocese of Chicago, I have resolved that beginning tomorrow, Tuesday, Feb. 8, the wearing of masks by members of our faculty, staff and student body will be optional."

Calling it a "difficult decision," Mathuis went on to say that he expected "swift retribution" possibly resulting in his termination, but that he made his decision in what he believed to be "the best interests of our students and families."

"To those who suggest that I have 'caved' to one side versus the other, let me assure you that absolutely nothing could be further from the truth," the principal continued. "Never would I presume to put my professional life on the line merely to appease someone … anyone … or any particular group of individuals."

Mathius was a popular teacher and dean for 43 years at Brother Rice High School and was hired as principal of Queen of Martyrs during the fall of 2020 in the throes of the pandemic.

Word of Mathius being placed on administrative leave Tuesday morning spread quickly in neighborhood Facebook groups. By the afternoon, hundreds had gathered in front of the Queen of Martyrs at 103rd Street and Central Park Avenue straddling the border of Evergreen Park and Mount Greenwood. Parents and children held signs that read, “Archdiocese Overreach” and “We Stand By Doc.”

Students chanted “bring back, Doc” for TV news cameras, while cars streamed past the school honking their horns in support of the principal.

“You kids are heroes,” a man shouted. “You have a principal with principles.”

A Queen of Martyrs parent, who would only give her name as Carrie, said many students showed up to class on Monday not wearing masks.

“A majority of the student body assembled in the morning before they opened the doors and walked in very peacefully as a group,” Carrie said. “They didn’t yell protest or make a scene. They simply walked into the building, not wearing masks. When they got to a certain point [in the building], they were told they had to put on a mask and go to their classroom.”

Students wore their masks for the rest of Monday without issue. But Tuesday, after parents received Mathius’s email the night before saying Queen of Martyrs would go mask optional, it was a different story.

“We didn’t put on masks today,” Carrie’s sixth-grade son told Patch. “The school didn’t send me home. They told us politely to put on our masks, and we all did.”

The sixth-grader said when he heard the news of Mathius being placed on administrative leave, “I felt like my body cracked.”

“We’ve been wearing masks to the point that I mistakenly grab a mask every time I leave the house,” sixth-grader continued. “I’m used to wearing a mask. It’s muscle memory now, but I would prefer going to school not wearing a mask.”

Many of those at the demonstration praised Mathius as a “great man,” who had done wonders in his short time at Queen of Martyrs School.

Mathius confirmed in an email to parents on Tuesday, "before my administrative rights to this platform are terminated," that he had been placed on administrative leave while the archdiocese conducts an investigation.

The Archdiocese of Chicago said it did not comment on personnel issues when asked if Mathius had been place on administrative leave. In response to parents’ questions whether Chicago Archdiocese schools would become “mask optional,” the Archdiocese also emailed families stating that it would lift the mask mandate “when it was safe to do so.”

While the number of positive cases in Catholic schools has dropped, the archdiocese explained that current COVID-19 cases last Friday were “still higher than on any single school day last August, September, or October.”

“COVID-19 is still being transmitted throughout our communities, and we do not want our Catholic schools to contribute to that spread – to our school children, teachers, staff, or their families. We want to see the number of positive cases in our schools continue to decline.”

A man attending the rally said he and his eight siblings attended Queen of Martyrs, along with “40 or 50 of my cousins.” He and his four brothers also had Mathias for a teacher at Brother Rice High School.

“I had Doc for a teacher 40 years ago,” the man said. “We had talked about bringing my daughter here. I love Doc, you talk about a role model. I worked with him as a trainer. He taught my brothers and I. He’s a role model for his faith.”