St. Bernardine Church

Background

Saint Bernardine Church is located at the corner of Elgin Avenue and Harrison Street in Forest Park, Illinois.

The parish officially began on Christmas Eve, 1911. Fr. Burke celebrated Mass in a meeting room of Vogel's Lodge Hall, located on the corner of Harrison Street and Harlem Avenue. About 75 families consisted the parish. By 1916, a combination church-school was functioning (seen in the back of the present-day church). A convent was located to the south of the school.

In the spring of 1936, ground was broken for the new rectory, which was ready for occupancy in November. It was designed by architect Monroe R. Sandel to match the Spanish Mission architecture of the future church.

When the new rectory was occupied, plans began to take shape for the church. About this time there were 830 families.

The parish newspaper, The Chimes, made its debut in May 1936.

On Easter Sunday 1939, Fr. John T. Wagener broke ground for the new church. The architects for the project were McCarthy, Smith, Eppig of Chicago.

The interior of St. Bernardine Church, pre-Vatican II, in 1961, still had the marble kneeling rail and painted statues. Seen at back is St. Bernardine at left and St. Anthony at right. The Sacred Heart is at right.

In the cornerstone, laid on June 25th were copies of the local newspapers and copies of the Chimes. Thirteen months after groundbreaking, the church was complete.

In May of 1940, the first Mass was said in the church. It was a Solemn High Mass, offered by Father Wagener, assisted by Father Borchardt and Father Wilhelmi.

Christmas 2000 with Music Director Jon Breitenbach at the organ

Says the 1986 75th Anniversary Book of the 1940 church:

From the fourteen-ton wood trusses that support the roof to the beautiful bell tower which serves as a monumental pedestal for the cross; from the vivid colors of the exquisite stained glass windows to the subdued tones of the carillon chimes, from the granite cornerstone to the art-stone statue of St. Bernardine standing in his niche high above the sanctuary's entrance, the features of this imposing structure help make it a fitting home for worship and works in the name of God.

Above the altar is a huge wood-carved crucifix donated by the Perpetual Help Mothers Club. Stations of the Cross were painted in oils by a Chicago artist. Parishioners' donations of old gold brought to life a new chalice plus the goldplating of other chalices and monstrances used at the altar. And individual donors provided all of the many other furnishings so necessary for Holy Services. (25)

This page was created by David Claudon, May 6, 2001. Last update, August 10, 2005 .

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