St. Joseph Catholic Church marks 125 years in Joliet

JOLIET – Joliet is a different place now than it was 125 years ago, but the faith, fellowship and tradition of St. Joseph Catholic Church have remained a constant for the city.

The parish will celebrate its milestone anniversary Sunday.

“There [aren’t] too many other churches that have the same history,” said Scott Pucel, the church’s facilities manager.

Pucel was baptized at St. Joseph, and his family has been involved with the parish on and off since they came to the Joliet area from Slovenia in 1901.

His story is, in many ways, representative of the church’s history.

The parish was founded May 12, 1891, by Slovenian immigrants who came to Joliet to work in the nearby steel mills and settled along Chicago Street, according to the Rev. Timothy P. Andres, pastor at St. Joseph.

The founding members wanted to celebrate Mass in their own language and tradition, and Andres said the church keeps that legacy alive today.

“We try to hold on to that heritage,” he said.

The St. Joseph community includes Slovenian attire and music in its Masses, offers one Mass in Slovenian each month, refers to the Virgin Mary by her Slovenian name of Marija Pomagaj and holds a celebration for St. Nicholas Day, which is a tradition in Slovenia.

“It still retains its identity,” said Cherie Gimbel, coordinator of parish services and a former junior high school social studies teacher at the church’s corresponding school, which was operational from 1895 to 2010.

However, in spite of its traditions, St. Joseph also makes an effort to be inclusive and welcoming to newcomers.

“St. Joe’s here in 2016 is continuing to grow,” Andres said, adding that five years ago the church had a congregation of about 800 families, and today that number has increased to 860 families.

Andres also noted the parish’s acts of community and charity, specifying that the church is home to many organizations and that its members volunteer at Shepherd’s Table soup kitchen and for clothing drives.

The congregation meets inside a historic downtown building – the church’s second – constructed in 1905.

“It’s incredibly beautiful inside,” Andres said, adding that the structure at 416 N. Chicago St. is comparable to the great medieval cathedrals of Europe.

The original church building is noteworthy for a different reason – it was constructed using local limestone within three months of the pastor’s arrival, according to Angela Zaida and John Lukancic, who are on the church’s anniversary committee.

“They were really, really faithful people,” Lukancic said, adding that those founding members’ sense of faith still is alive at St. Joseph.

The church will mark its 125th birthday with a Mass at 11:30 a.m. Sunday, which will be the culmination of a year of celebration that began last June. The Mass will open with a procession of banners representing organizations within the church, and Mass will be led by the Most Rev. Joseph Siegel, auxiliary bishop and vicar general of the Diocese of Joliet.

Afterward, a ticketed program and dinner will take place from 1 to 6 p.m. at St. Joseph Park with Slovenian music, dancing and speeches.

In addition to Sunday’s festivities, the church is in the process of compiling a coffee table book on the history of the parish to be sold in the church gift shop. Andres is aiming to have it ready in time for the parish picnic next month.

Zaida and Lukancic hope the book will evoke memories of St. Joseph, honor its traditions and well-documented past, and inspire the current congregation through the history of the church’s founding.

For Gimbel, who has seen baptisms, First Holy Communions, confirmations, weddings and burials at St. Joseph, the church’s legacy is intertwined with her own.

“It’s just home,” she said.