About
November 7, 2010 |
St. Bernardine Parish is Born
At the turn of the century, when Forest Park was still known as the Village of Harlem, the area was still prairie and dire roads, and only a few homes dotted the landscape. While the business district was beginning to build up, there were still few paved streets. Since they had no church of their own, the faithful Catholics, known as “The Old Timers,” walked miles to St. Luke’s Church to dutifully attend Sunday Mass. Even after 1907, when “The Old Timers” started going to Mass at the newly established Ascension Church in Oak Park, the distance and poor weather conditions during the winter and spring still made traveling difficult.
Finally, in 1911, the Catholics of Forest Park decided that it was time to have their own parish to fill the growing need for their families and the rest of the burgeoning population. And so Mrs. H. White and Mrs. H. Fromme went through the village obtaining signatures on a petition that was then presented to the Most Reverend James E. Quigley, Archbishop of Chicago. The need demonstrated, their request was fulfilled. A new parish was born and put under the patronage of St. Bernardine of Siena, “The Apostle of Italy.”
A True Saint
As a young man, Bernardine had a troublesome speech impediment. Eventually, he was divinely led to join the Franciscan order, and his patience and humility grew as he developed spiritually. When he was assigned to a preaching office, he dutifully accepted, despite his difficulty with the spoken word. As a reward for his unquestioning obedience, he was miraculously healed. Bernardine, as a result, became a great preacher.
Italy was constantly at war during Bernardine’s lifetime, but he continued at his job, always keeping the Name of Jesus in his heart and on his lips. In so doing, he helped establish peace in the land and a rekindling of true Catholic piety. He was one of the first to preach devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus.
After years of laboring and writing for the Lord, Bernardine died in 1444. We honor him as St. Bernardine each May 20.
The Early Parish
The establishment of a parish and the designation of a parish name are only the firstr steps in a long and arduous process that tested the perseverance and faith of its parishioners.
The boundaries of St. Bernardine’s parish were drawn to match those of Forest Park, south of Madison Street and north of 12th Street (which later became Roosevelt Road). Reverend Thomas D. Burke was appointed as pastor.
In the beginning, services were held in a lodge meeting room in a picnic grove belonging to Mr. and Mrs. George Vogel on the corner of Harrison Street and Harlem Avenue in Forest Park. On Sunday mornings, about 75 families would fill the meeting room to pray before an altar made form a dry goods box covered with a bed sheet. On Christmas Eve, 1911, Father Burke celebrated the first Mass held in that makeshift church.
Soon after, the parish’s first real estate was purchased – lots 3, 4 and 5 on the corner of Harrison Street and Marengo Avenue. A temporary portable building, dubbed “The Ark,” was obtained from Resurrection Parish. It was hauled to the site in sections on Henry Mohr’s coal wagons. Parish men assembled the building, plastered the walls, laid a hardwood floor. The women cleaned and prepared the sanctuary for divine services. Initially, pews were backless benches borrowed from the Harlem Race Track. Kneeling benches were made by parish men.
