By By JESSICA SIEFF / Niles Daily Star
NILES – There was plenty of excitement at the Niles Bensidoun French Market, June 5 – when the Sisters of the Fraternite of Notre Dame in Chicago returned to Niles – bringing their pastries with them and quelling fears of local fans that they might not be attending the market at all.
"Because gasoline is so expensive," explained Sister Mary of the Gospel, there was a bit of hesitation by the sisters, who travel to Niles from Chicago. As a result, Sister Mary said they would only attend the market "on the first Thursday of each month."
The sisters became a local favorite after they brought their delicate pastries including chocolate and butter croissants, apple turnovers, French apple tarts, marzipan and French baguettes with them to Niles. But those pastries are more than just delicious – they are a way to help those in need.
"We have a soup kitchen in Chicago," said Sister Mary. The sisters conduct missionary work as well as after school programs and meals-on-wheels programs throughout the Chicago area, as well as in San Francisco and East Harlem in New York.
"We have an orphanage" in Africa, she added. The money raised through their stand at the Bensidoun French Market in Niles goes to benefit those programs.
Each of the delicacies brought with them on the first Thursday of the month are homemade, according to Sister Mary, by the sisters through their 'Saint Roger Abbey Bakery.'
The Niles Bensidoun French Market is open every Thursday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., located in the parking lot just off Main St. at Riverfront Park.