PARISH HISTORY:
THE FIRST ONE HUNDRED YEARS

The Early Years

Hickory Bend was settled in 1846.  The first church services were held in 1848 in a local farm house and were conducted by a Baptist minister.  In 1871 (the year of the Chicago Fire), it was petitioned that the village be surveyed and its name changed to Glenwood.  Although Presbyterian and Congregationalist ministers visited the community, there is no record of any Catholic priests celebrating Mass in those early years.

By 1884, there were enough Catholics living in this farming community such that the first St. John Catholic Church was built as a mission church of St. Kevin Parish and founded by Fr. Timothy D. O'Sullivan.

Original Frame Church, 1884

The wooden church, seating 100, was on the north side of Main Street. An educated guess is that circuit-riding priests celebrated Mass in the church.  The first recorded Baptism on Jan. 6, 1885 was that of then six day old Margaret Joan O'Connor.  St. John became a mission church of  St. Agnes parish of Chicago Heights when the latter was founded in 1894.  The wooden church was moved in 1913 from its original site on the north side of Main Street to the south side at approximately 218 E. Main.

Fr. Armand C. Martin, 1914-1925

St. John in Glenwood was raised to the status of a parish in 1897. But it was not until 1914 that the parish had grown sufficiently to support a resident pastor.  Fr. Martin is reported to be a man of enormous energy who ministered not only to Catholics in Glenwood but also in Hazel Crest, Homewood, Thornton and Lansing.  During this time St. Ann in Lansing became a mission of St. John Parish.  Records indicate that in 1925 there were probably sixty families who were parishioners.

Fr. Edmund P. Kelley, 1925-1930

Fr. Kelley was appointed the pastor of St. John Church and St. Ann Mission in 1925.  These were difficult economic times for everyone because the Great Depression had begun.  Burdened by ill health, Fr. Kelley died in 1930 at the age of 39.  What little is recorded of his tenure as pastor is found in the sacramental records of the church, listing baptisms and weddings.

Fr. James E. Burke, 1930-1948

Fr. Burke was forty-five years old when he was appointed the pastor of St. John.  He was a very resourceful and persuasive man with an exceedingly charming and winsome manner about him.  The original wooden church was now 46 years old.  Old age and damaged as the result of a fire caused the little church to become hazardous.  It had to be replaced.  But these were the days of the Great Depression.  A small congregation of sixty families could not afford the cost of a new church.

Fr. Burke had built a life grounded on friendships.  His friends, numbering hundreds, were people of influence, heads of trade unions, business executives, business owners, the rich and just plain, hardworking folks.  These friendships were to instrumental in Fr. Burke's dream.  Beginning with the first substantial gift of a parcel of land at approximately 220 E. Main Street, donations included over 100,000 bricks from a factory being leveled in central Illinois and free labor from masons, plasterers, carpenters, electricians and other skilled workers.

Other donations of "household items" were also albeit reluctantly made. Parishioners were wary of inviting Fr. Burke into their homes, lest he appropriate some item deemed suitable for his new church.  "Wouldn't this look nice in the new church?" he would say as he carted the item out the door.

His greatest find, bar none, was a set of stained glass windows which were designed and crafted in the 1890's in Munich, Germany.  Their first home was St. Basil Church in Chicago.  When a new St. Basil Church was built, they were installed in St. Killian Church.  When a new St. Killian Church was built Fr. Burke salvaged the windows and had them installed in his new building.  To date, these beautiful windows with their strong link to the past enhance our present church as they do this web site.

In testimony to Fr. Burke's resourcefulness, the Chicago Heights Star newspaper reported in an article dated May 27, 1941, "Although the entire edifice is valued at $50,000.00, it was completed without any increase in the parish debt and with an actual cash outlay of only $3,000.00."

The Brick Church on Main Street
Dedicated in 1941

Three years of labor and the new brick church was ready for dedication. Postponed because of the death of Cardinal Mundelein, Archbishop of Chicago who died in 1939, the dedication finally took place on May 27, 1941 when the Most Rev. Samuel A. Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago dedicated the impressive new building.

Three years after World War II ended, Fr. Burke was named pastor of St. Basil parish in Chicago.

Rev. Lawrence M. Kenney, 1948-1968

During Fr. Kenney's twenty years as pastor, Glenwood went from being a rural to a suburban community.  Commuter service on the Illinois Central Railroad, the new Calumet Expressway and Tri-Sate Tollway made it possible to live in Glenwood and work in downtown Chicago.  Of Glenwood's total population of six hundred 1950, there were about one hundred fifty Catholic families.  By 1960, the number of Catholic families had climbed to eight hundred and eighty two.  This unprecedented growth of Glenwood placed a heavy burden on parish facilities.  Serving this growing community by himself, the demands made on Fr. Kenny's time and energies began to take their toll on his health.

Msgr. Joseph J. Howard was designated as the administrator of the parish in 1967 as Fr. Kenny's health began to deteriorate.  He remained as administrator into 1968.  During Msgr. Howard's stewardship of the parish that the land on Cottage Grove Avenue was purchased.

Rev. Stanley C. Limanowski, 1968-1975

During Fr. Limanowski's seven years as pastor, Glenwood and the surrounding areas continued their enormous population growth.  Serving an every increasing flock, it was apparent that "Fr. Burke's" church was becoming more and more inadequate to accommodate the influx of new parishioners.  He realized that a larger facility had to be built.  Under his direction plans for a new parish complex were drawn up, but because of failing health he had to leave the completion of his dream to others.

The written history of Fr. Kenny's and Fr. Limanowski's pastorates may give the impression that not much was happening during their tenures.  A few paragraphs cannot adequately summarize their respective twenty and seven years.  The pressure of keeping up with the growth of the parish were enormous.  They were kept busy doing what a priest is ordained to do, offering sacrifice, administering the sacraments, being a shepherd to their ever growing flock.

Rev. Francis T. Menarik, 1975-1981

Fr. Menarik fell heir to the building project envisioned by Fr. Limanowski.  To meet the needs of the more than six hundred families who made up the parish and new families registering every day, plans called for a multipurpose building to incorporate the church, chapel, rectory, CCD offices and the social hall.   Ground was broken on February 29, 1976.  Described as "a continuing step in the metamorphosis from the soaring 17th century Gothic cathedrals to contemporary religious structures" , the design became a model for a number of new facilities subsequently built in the Archdiocese.

Fr. Menarik wanted to keep history alive in the design of the new building by incorporating as many features of the venerable old church as possible...  all the furnishings, various statues, the church bell,  the seventy-five year old stained glass windows.

On Sunday, December 19, 1976, somber faced parishioners climbed the stairs of their homey country church on Main Street for their final Eucharistic celebration.  The tiny building was filled with countless fond memories.  Tears welled up in the eyes of long-time parishioners who sensed the passing of an era.

Fr. Menarik, however, was determined to celebrate Christmas Midnight Mass in the partially completed church on Cottage Grove.  Hard work and determination prepared the church area for that first glorious Christmas celebration.  With an overflow crowd present, Fr. Menarik celebrated Christmas Midnight Mass 1976.  This celebration signaled the beginning of another era in the history of the parish. St. John was no longer an unassuming, modest, semi-rural community of Catholics.  It had blossomed into a parish of more than 800 families with more growth yet to come.

The New Church
Dedicated in 1977

Fourteen months after the ground breaking ceremony, John Cardinal Cody, Archbishop of Chicago, dedicated the new parish complex on April 17, 1977.  Within two short years after his arrival as pastor, Fr. Menarik had accomplished much.  Not enough can be said, however, of the parishioners who supported their pastor in their bold project.  Fr. Menarik and his parishioners could justly be proud of all they had achieved in such a short time.

On March 25, 1981, the Feast of the Annunciation, tragedy struck St. John Parish.  Fr. Menarik suffered a fatal heart attack.  The news of his death spread quickly throughout the parish, and was received with sorrow by the parishioners who loved and respected him.  Parishioners and friends came together in unprecedented numbers not just to mourn their loss but above all to celebrate his life.

Rev. John R. Kauzlarich, 1981-1999

Fr. Kauzlarich was installed as the seventh pastor of St. John Parish on June 14, 1981.  As with every beginning, there are always some tasks left to be completed.  Since Fr. Menarik and the parishioners worked so hard to finance and build the new facilities, some permanent recognition had to be given to them.  Through a special Memorial Fund Collection, a bronze plaque honoring the memory of Fr. Menarik and his predecessors was commissioned and placed outside the parish social hall, now renamed Fr. Menarik Hall.  In addition, an electronic bell system was purchased and was dedicated to the memory of those parishioners who had gone before.

The new building was functional in almost every respect.  There was one vexing problem, how to accommodate the more than 400 children in the Religious Education Program?  They were scattered among five different sites in Glenwood and Thornton.  With the approval of the Archdiocese, it was decided that the existing social hall should be enlarged and movable walls installed.  Construction began in 1983 and work finished a year later.  The social hall could now be transformed into eight class rooms or one large hall.

With the final payment made in 1993, the parish debt was paid off.

The Full Story Never Told

Unfortunately, this history concerns itself with priests and buildings.  This seems to imply that the parish story has only been priests and buildings, but this is certainly not true.  A parish community is people working and praying with their priests in a sacred space.  Individuals in their turn strive to live as Christians as they go about their lives.

Unfortunately, the detailed record of the people making up a parish is often scant at best.  True, there are lists of children baptized, those married and those buried from the parish church.  Mere names, however, are not living breathing people.  Names of individuals, no matter how important they may have been in life, do not reveal the vibrant stories of those who worshiped, the children who played and the lives lived in the context of their parish community.  Names alone can never recount the Eucharists celebrated, the prayers offered, the sorrows shared and the good times spent with fellow parishioners.

Consider the countless times the sacraments were administered to the faithful over these past one hundred years.  St. John was the hub of their faith life and, in simpler times, also the heart of their social life.  The parish was that grace-filled center where, with friends who shared a common faith, God was encountered.

God has been good to the faith community of St. John since that pioneering band of Catholics first worshiped in the small wooden church.  The founders would be amazed to see how well the tree has flourished and all this from the tiny seed planted in 1884 a Hickory Bend, Illinois

We, your spiritual children, thank you, the parish pioneers, and honor your memory.

This short account is based on the "History of St. John Parish; Glenwood, Illinois" compiled by Rev. John R. Kauzlarich.  The full account is published in "St. John Church; 1897 - 1997; Celebrating a Century of Worship."

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"Thou shall not steal."
Photograph of Fr. E. P. Kelley kindly provided by Sr. Jeanette Salbert, S. L. W. of St. Basil Visitation Parish.
Page modified:  December 26, 2005.