Soon thereafter, 75 to 100 people were coming to Masses, and St. Joseph's had outgrown both the meeting room and its status as a mission. In mid-1907, the cornerstone of a new church was laid on the northeast corner of Main and Franklin streets, then the northern limits of Downers Grove. The first Mass was held in the new church in 1908, and in the following year, on October 23, 1909, St. Joseph's was formally recognized as a parish, with Father Goodwin named its first pastor.
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Our History
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Mission Parish Beginnings - Summer 1906
Downers Grove was still a farming and railroad town, with unpaved streets and wooden sidewalks. A meeting held that summer in Clifford’s Plumbing Shop on Main street was attended by Catholics interested in organizing a new church. At that time, Downers Grove was within the Archdiocese of Chicago boundaries, so a request was made of Archbishop James Edward Quigley to establish a mission parish. Archbishop Quigley consented, and St. Joseph was the name chosen to complement the existing St. Mary’s church (established 1891) located in what was then East Grove (Fairview Avenue). Given the mission status of the new parish, Rev. J.A. Bollman and Rev. Dr. Eneas Goodwin traveled to Downers Grove by train on alternate Sundays to celebrate Mass. The parishioners gathered in a room above a grocery store which was located on the site now occupied by Downers Grove National Bank.
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St. Joseph Becomes a Parish - Fall 1909
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St. Joseph School Established - Summer 1910
A scant four years since beginning as a mission church, Fr. Goodwin established St. Joseph's Grade School by partitioning the rear of the church into two classrooms. Three nuns from the Ursuline Sisters began teaching in the makeshift classrooms, graduating St. Joseph’s first class of four in 1911. By 1926, a modern eight-room school was dedicated, and in 1931, the Sisters of Providence took over teaching duties for the expanding school. Meanwhile in 1930, after 20 years as pastor, Fr. Goodwin left to become a professor at Loyola University. He was succeeded by Rev. Cyril F. Meade in April, 1930. Rev. Meade served during the bulk of the Great Depression years, handling many maintenance jobs himself to save costs.
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Diocese of Joliet Formed - 1949
By the time Fr. Meade retired in 1943, St. Joseph Parish was financially sound, and was graduating classes of 30 students. His successor, Monsignor Lester Kiley, began a project to remodel the church, which was completed in 1948. At that time, the population in and around the Archdiocese of Chicago was exploding, and the local bishops petitioned Rome to form a new diocese. In 1949, after much deliberation, the Diocese of Joliet-in-Illinois was established, formed from parts of the Archdiocese of Chicago and the Dioceses of Rockford and Peoria. St. Joseph Parish was within the boundaries of the new Diocese.
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Postwar Expansion Years - 1950-1955
Continued growth of the parish and school prompted the building of a convent in 1950, and a rectory was built in 1955 concurrent with an expansion of the school building. An unusual thing happened upon completion of the expansion project: the church itself had become too small. A “temporary” solution was to use the space intended as a gymnasium as a new and larger church. The old church was then remodeled to be the new gymnasium. This “temporary” solution lasted until 1992 when the current church was completed on the northwest corner of Main Street and Prairie Avenue.
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1970s and 1980s
Monsignor Kiley spent 28 years as pastor and was succeeded by Rev. Thomas Fleming in 1971. Again, parish and school growth resulted in another renovation and modernization program. In 1977, Fr. George Hurley became Pastor, and was recognized for establishing a Parish Council, Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, Baptism and Marriage Preparation, and several more lay ministries. During Fr. Hurley’s tenure, St. Joseph parish began purchasing adjoining homes and properties along Main Street to prepare for the construction of a new church. In 1984, Rev. James Fitzgerald came to St. Joseph Parish and continued involving parishioners of all ages in the ministries of the church. The parish was still growing, and on December 13, 1992, Rev. Fitzgerald happily celebrated Mass in the present St. Joseph Church for the first time. By this time, the original church (which was now the gym) had become rather run-down, so it was demolished. The completion of the present church allowed the second church to finally become what it had originally been intended to be: the school gym. (Got all that?) Fr. Fitzgerald’s tenure at St. Joseph’s ended in 1997, and he later became an Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Joliet. Fr. Paul Hottinger was named as his successor.
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1990s and 2000s
Under Rev. Hottinger’s guidance and support, St. Joseph Parish aggressively pursued many more improvements to facilities. A new computer lab, air conditioning, and electrical renovations in the school were completed, and the basement of the church was remodeled and named Fitzgerald Hall, to honor the now-deceased Auxiliary Bishop and former Pastor. Along with the aggressive facility renovations, Fr. Paul also increased participation in and strongly supported the lay ministries of the parish.
In 2007, Fr. Jerome Kish was appointed as Pastor during the Centennial year of the Parish. A former Parochial Vicar at St. Joseph’s, Fr. Jerome spent five years here after his ordination to the priesthood in 1998, so it was quite a homecoming to be back at St. Joseph’s as Pastor. During this time, Fr. Jerome oversaw renovations to the church, bringing the Tabernacle and Crucifix from the chapel and centering them, along with the Altar, in the sanctuary. He also had kneelers installed and had the side pews reoriented to face the sanctuary. By placing Our Lord in the center of our church, Fr. Jerome gave us a lasting reminder to place Him also at the center of our lives and to keep our eyes always focused on Him. Fr. Jerome was joined in mid-2010 by Rev. John Lindsey as the new Parochial Vicar. Both priests loved spending time with our school children and youth accompanying them on mission trips and even to World Youth Day. -
2010 to Present
In 2013, Fr. John Phan joined us as Pastor, bringing his energy, laughter and love of God to the parish. We used every bit of that energy as Father led us into a capital campaign for necessary school and church renovations. Fr. John led St. Joseph's through the arduous task of fundraising, planning, and constructing of a major addition to our school. This brought us much needed classroom space, an elevator to access the many levels of our school, and so much more. The vast majority of the project had been completed when he learned of his reassignment.
June of 2019 brought us our current pastor, Fr. Albert Heidecke, or as most call him: Fr. Al. Less than one year into Father's arrival our world was impacted by the Coronavirus or COVID-19. As St. Joseph's continues to navigate these new waters, we see God's providence working in our lives and teaching us how to adapt and innovate. He is helping us reach out to others in ways we never had before the pandemic. Live-streaming Mass for those unable to attend in-person is just one of many ways we are stretching our boundaries as a parish. In the years of the National Eucharistic Revival, St. Joseph's has offered more opportunities for the Faithful to encounter Our Lord, Who is truly present in the Eucharist, by opening up the Parish Center chapel for prayer during office hours and holding monthly BEHOLD Holy Hours in the church. The future is filled with hope and we look forward to seeing where Fr. Al will lead our St. Joseph Parish Community.