Archives for July 2012

When was it founded: 1968

 Where is it located: 1321 Burning Bush Lane

Has it moved: Yes

History and interesting stories about the church:

On May 15, 1968, Father Frank E. Wachowski was appointed to establish a new parish. Despite having some initial difficulties in finding an appropriate site for a church, Father Wachowski eventually acquired some land and proceeded to organize a parish. Within the first month, over 247 families were registered as members. Because of the congregation’s high concentration of families, the church’s first organization was a CCD program–a religious education course for children. In December of that year, Cardinal Cody approved the name of “Saint Thomas Becket” for the church.

Although the garage of the parish center–purchased in 1970–had been converted into a chapel, the developing congregation experienced growing pains and needed more room to stretch. As a result, in 1975, plans were finalized for the construction of a new church, meeting hall, and rectory. Even though construction was not completed until 1979, the church held services as early as December 1978. Father Wachowski was fortunate enough to live to see the completion of Saint Thomas Becket’s expansion as well as the official dedication ceremony in 1980. Later that year, the Father passed away and was replaced by Father Ralph Mollan.

When was it founded: 1949

Where is it located: 301 South I-Oka

 Has it moved: Yes

First Pastor or Priest: Thomas O’Brien

History and interesting stories about the church:

In 1949, the foundations for Saint Raymond’s Catholic Church were set; a house at 222 South Hi-Lusi was acquired to serve as rectory and chapel, while Central School’s basement served as the temporary house of worship. With the first mass conducted and the first baptism celebrated, Saint Raymond’s was launched. Father Thomas O’Brien, assigned to the church, started a choir in 1950 and four years later, opened a school. The school’s increasing enrollment called for the employment of more nuns, and as a result, a new convent was opened. However, the social and political atmosphere of the 1960s persuaded few women to join, and in 1976, the last sister departed from the convent.

Under the direction of Father Coggins, who served Saint Raymond’s from 1963 to 1970, a memorial park was created behind the church in honor of Father O’Brien. In addition to the creation of the park, Father Coggins supervised the construction of a rectory, the expansion of the auditorium, and the renovations to the church according to the standards of Vatican II. In 1971, also in accordance to the Vatican standards, Father Buhrfeind established the Parish Council, which helped to coordinate the activities of the parish committees–finance, religious education, school board, etc. Following the leadership of Father Buhrfeind was Father Loftus who served Saint Raymond’s from 1979 to 1996. During his term, he was responsible for assembling a committee to study how environment affects worship services. The study found that most parishioners felt the church’s interior decorations distracted from worship. As a result of those findings, Saint Raymond’s interior was renovated, and the church rededicated in 1988 by Cardinal Bernardin. In 1996, the arrival of Father Bernard J. Pietrzak brought much community attention to Saint Raymond’s in part to his work with bi-theist couples and single Catholics.

 

When was it founded: 1913

Where is it located: 100 South School Street

Has it moved: Yes

Notable Members: Many 20th century leaders and members of the Busse family

First Pastor or Priest: J. E. A. Mueller

History and interesting stories about the church:

On July 7, 1912, various members of the Mount Prospect community assembled to sign a charter for the creation of a Lutheran church, specifically Saint Paul Evangelical Lutheran Congregation of Mount Prospect. Nine months after the historic signing, in March 1913, the first church building was dedicated; however, it was not until the following January that Reverend J. E. A. Mueller became the church’s first resident pastor. A mere eight days following his installment, Reverend Mueller organized and taught at the Saint Paul Lutheran School. He continued to be the sole teacher until 1917 when the school hired its first full-time instructor, Martin Hasz.