Joliet’s St. Joseph Church to remain independent after Vatican appeal

The Vatican, in a rare decision, approved an appeal to keep St. Joseph Church in Joliet an independent parish, parishioners said.

“Miracles happen,” Mary Petrella, one of the parishioners who led the appeal, said Wednesday.

The appeal was made in response to a Diocese of Joliet restructuring earlier this year that merged St. Joseph into a combined parish that would have been seated in another church.

The diocese, in a statement from Bishop Ron Hicks, said it would continue to weigh options, including a possible appeal of the Vatican decision.

But the Vatican decision runs contrary to the diocese on several points, including a statement that the diocese failed to justify an assertion that the Slovenian community that built the St. Joseph parish has disappeared.

Petrella said the Vatican decision received by parishioners Tuesday allows St. Joseph to remain an independent parish.

“Basically, it revokes the decision from the bishop in January that merged St Joseph with three other parishes,” she said.

The diocese restructuring did not propose closing St. Joseph Church but merged it with three other Joliet parishes to be seated at St. Mary Magdalene Church in Joliet. Two other churches – St. Anthony’s and St. Bernard’s – were closed.

“The bishop and his restructuring team will consider the options available and determine the best path forward for St. Joseph parish and the Diocese of Joliet.”

—  The Diocese of Joliet on the Vatican's decision

What happens next at St. Joseph’s, however, still will depend on Bishop Ronald Hicks, who heads the Diocese of Joliet and made the restructuring decision.

“We’re waiting for instructions from the bishop,” Petrella said, noting that Hicks will decide who becomes pastor at St. Joseph.

The statement from the Diocese of Joliet indicates that it is not ready to accept the Vatican decision.

“At this time, no decisions have been made about the next steps,” the diocese said, noting that church law allows for an appeal to a higher court in the Vatican. “The bishop and his restructuring team will consider the options available and determine the best path forward for St. Joseph parish and the Diocese of Joliet.”

The diocese did not respond to requests for an interview on the matter.

Backers of the appeal had urged parishioners to pray for a miracle because of the rarity in which decrees from a local bishop are revoked by the Vatican.

“According to the lawyers that we have been working with, we are the sixth parish in the United States that has had a decree overturned,” Petrella said.

St. Joseph’s Church in downtown Joliet was established in 1891 by Slovenian immigrants who in 1904 built the twin-steepled church that still stands.

The appeal was based in part on the parish’s history and its continued activity, which includes ownership and operation of St. Joseph’s Park, 700 Theodore St., in Joliet.

The parish is what is termed a “personal parish” by the Roman Catholic Church because it is based on its Slovenian history and identity rather than specific territorial boundaries.

Michael Vidmar, a parishioner also involved in the appeal process, said his own unofficial survey determined that almost half of St. Joseph parish members live west of Larkin Avenue. That would put them far west of the original Slovenian neighborhood that established the parish.

The appeal was able to counter a diocese argument that the Slovenian population in Joliet had diminished to the point that an independent St. Joseph parish based on its ethnic origins was no longer needed, Vidmar said.

Parishioners released the Vatican decision, which included specific remarks on the diocese argument that the Slovenian heritage in Joliet had disappeared to the point of no longer being significant.

The Vatican ruling found that the diocese “presented no information to justify the assertion of the near disappearance of the Slovenian community from the Diocese of Joliet.”

Vidmar said he was “happy and grateful” for the Vatican decision and also “surprised that we got it so fast. Sometimes these things drag out forever and ever.”

The Vatican agreed with the parishioners on all but one point in what was a very specific ruling, Vidmar said. Parishioners were able to show, among other things, that St. Joseph had sufficient numbers in membership, Mass attendance, weddings and other rituals to continue as a parish. They also demonstrated the financial stability of the parish, Vidmar said.