Joliet Catholic church has undergone many transformations, looks to the future

JOLIET – “I came to serve you, but we cannot stay here in this condition.”

These were the words the Rev. Michael Valente said he spoke to parishioners of the Church of St. Anthony, at 100 Scott St. in Joliet, when he came to the parish for the second time in 1974. Valente was appalled at the condition of the building – even pieces of the ceiling were cracking and breaking off.

“I thought, ‘My God, this is plaster. This will hurt these people,’ ” Valente said. “They had been given the opportunity to sell the building to the bank next door, which was making offers, but they insisted, ‘No, we want to stay here. We want to repair it.’ ”

Long a spiritual home to Italian Catholics, the Church of St. Anthony in downtown is a survivor that continually renews itself – and no one is more proud of showing off its emergence than Valente, its 83-year-old administrator, who effected many of its changes and has a vision for its future.

The stone building, formerly owned by First Baptist of Joliet, was built in 1858 for $8,000 Valente said. In 1902, 17 Italian families each pledged $1,000 and eventually bought the building for $14,000, he said.

“We had been guests in the basement of St. Mary Carmelite,” Valente said. “When we outgrew the basement, we had to buy our own building.”

The building that became the Church of St. Anthony, Valente said, was a solid, two-story structure – church on top, basement underneath, which was typical of practical Protestant construction of that time, he added.

“We never had a school, so we never needed anything more as far as land,” Valente said.

In 1922, the church bought 10 stained glass windows from a company in Munich, Germany, which is still in existence, Valente said. He estimates the worth today of those windows is $100,000 each. The windows tell the story of St. Anthony of Padua, whom Valente called a great scholar and preacher.

“He was a brilliant man, and that is why he became such a marvelous converter of people that had lost their faith,” Valente said.

At some point, in an attempt to beautify the church and bestow a modern look, the parishioners – who were simple workers – covered the exterior in stucco to hide the stone, Valente said.

“It was very humble stone, as far as limestone goes,” Valente said. “It was not cut. It was slab.”

In 1958, Valente was assigned to the Church of St. Anthony as an associate priest and stayed six years before being transferred to another church. In 1974, Valente returned to St. Anthony as its pastor. By then, the stucco was falling apart, he said.

But Valente’s first move was to gut the interior –– new pews, plaster walls and carpet. The plaster statues also were deteriorating – some had hands missing – so these were replaced by various wood sculptures.

“We did it with volunteers and love and labor and gifts,” Valente said. “The people decided amongst themselves to donate $100 per family.”

Next, Valente tackled the exterior and make it architecturally appealing as well as safe. He and the parishioners decided on a Williamsburg appearance and veneer brick. Again, members pledged to donate $100 a family.

“We never had any debt on the whole thing,” Valente said.

But some parishioners did more, Valente said. For example, one member paid for a new steeple – including the cost of removing the former handmade wood one, Valente said. Another bought the four pillars at its entrance and dedicated them to his grandparents. A third donated the concrete for the church, the garage and the rectory. Another laid the bricks, handmade in South Carolina, Valente said.

“They looked very appropriate for the age of the structure,” Valente said. “They were oversized bricks and had the right color and all that.”

Valente retired in 2001. In 2011, he again returned to the Church of St. Anthony, this time as its administrator. Again, the building needed work: $40,000 worth of repairs to plumbing, windows, the Muller organ, windows on the north side and church hall, as well as painting.

But it’s not just the building that’s undergone change. Membership has dropped from 1,400 to 200 since 1998, although the church still attracts new members, Valente said.

Decades-long members are now in their 80s and 90, and one is 100. People of Italian descent still attend the church, as do those who are not Italian.

Although the church will eventually need a new roof, it doesn’t need much else, he said.

“We’re still functioning and viable,” Valente said.

Valente, who intends to leave the parish for good in June, hopes that with the University of St. Francis and Joliet Junior College both having a presence in the downtown area, college students will discover this historical parish and use it for their spiritual growth.

“I want to put this church on the map with its great legacy,” Valente said. “It has become a beautiful structure.”