Then & Now: St. Rose Catholic Church - Wilmington

In 1844, the Catholic community in Wilmington was served by Rev. John Ingoldsby, who came from St. Patrick’s Church in Joliet. In 1851, the parishioners of St. Rose began construction of a small church building that was completed in 1855.

Before the construction of this small church, Masses were celebrated in people’s homes. In 1865, the parishioners built a larger church with seating for 500. As the congregation continued to grow quickly, the church also became small, and in 1883, construction of a new church began with a seating capacity of 700.

This new large stone church cost approximately $45,000 to build, and the first Mass was sung on Christmas Day 1886. The new St. Rose Catholic Church, built in the Gothic Revival style, is part of the mid-19th century picturesque and romantic movements in architecture, reflecting society’s taste for buildings inspired by medieval design.

The mostly identifiable feature of the Gothic Revival style is the pointed arch used for windows, doors, and decorative elements like porches, dormers, or roof gables. Other style details include steeply pitched roofs and front-facing gables with wood trim. Gothic Revival-style churches often have a Norman castle-like tower with a crenellated parapet or high spire. These elements can be seen in the Then photograph of the St. Rose church.

The St. Rose Catholic School, located just south of the church, was built in 1948 and currently serves grades one through eight. For more than 150 years, the St. Rose of Lima Parish has served the Catholic community of Wilmington. The Now photograph shows a similar view of the church today.