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About St. Procopius
--Our History, Our Faith, Our Traditions--125 Years
The Church exists to bring the message of Jesus to all peoples. We look back on the rich history of St. Procopius Parish and see the parish as a community of faith--originally a Czech community and now a predominantly Mexican community. Let us study and relive the history of our parish so that we can grow in the future.
THE FIRST YEARS
In 1863 the Czech Catholics who immigrated to Chicago formed their first parish, St. Wenceslaus, at 11th and De Koven Streets. In 1871 they organized themselves in the Bridgeport area at St. John Nepomucene.
Pilsen experienced great growth after the Chicago Fire of 1871 because the new fire codes did not prohibit inexpensive frame construction this side of the river. Many of today's neighborhood buildings go back to that period of construction and population growth. When Czechs moved from other neighborhoods into Pilsen, the need for a parish became clear.
Fr. William oka, pastor of St. John Nepomucene, helped to organize a committee of Pilsen residents to raise funds for a new school and parish. In the summer of 1875, the committee bought three lots at the corner of 18th and Allport Streets for $3,600. The Methodist Church at 19th and Halsted wanted to build a brick church and would sell their old frame church for $2,000. Consequently, this frame structure was purchased and moved to 18th and Allport--the upper part to be used for worship and the lower part for a school. St. Procopius, a tenth century Benedictine monk, was chosen as patron saint of the new parish.
St. Procopius was organized as a parish in 1875 with Fr. oka as its first pastor. The first Mass was celebrated there on Easter Sunday, April 16, 1876, by Fr. Gerst, chaplain at nearby Alexian Brothers Hospital.
St. Procopius School began in 1876 with Mr. John Petru, a professional teacher and organist, as its first principal. School enrollment grew very rapidly. Two Franciscan sisters from Joliet joined the growing school. The sisters lived in a small house on the north side of 21st Street between Racine and May before they moved into the church building. Within a few years two more buildings and part of a third were acquired for the school. In the building at 1714 S. Racine, seven Franciscan sisters established their convent on the second floor with classrooms on the first floor.
To keep up with the parish's growth, Fr. oka decided to build a new church. The old church was converted entirely to school use and relocated closer to the alley to make room for the new church. Mr. P. Huber was the principal architect of the Romanesque church. Ground-breaking took place September 28, 1881. Archbishop Patrick A. Feehan blessed the church on September 23, 1883. The celebration attracted many visitors, including Czech clergy from other American cities.
THE BENEDICTINE YEARS
Frs. Nepomuk Jaeger, OSB, and Václav Koárník, OSB, two Benedictine priests from Latrobe, Pennsylvania, preached a mission at St. Procopius during Lent, 1884. Both had previously been doing priestly ministry in Nebraska. Fr. oka took this opportunity to ask Archabbot Wimmer, OSB, to found a Benedictine community at St. Procopius and to take over the parish ministry. On March 2, 1885, the archabbot established a Benedictine community at the parish. There were three more Benedictines besides Fr. Jaeger: Frs. Wenceslaus Koárník, Xavier Traxler, and Sigismund Singer. The ministry of the Benedictine priests and brothers at St. Procopius lasted for over 100 years. With the Benedictines established in the parish, Fr. oka accepted a new ministry in Nebraska.
Fr. Jaeger was St. Procopius's first Benedictine pastor (1885-1894). He built the rectory in 1886 and the grade school in 1890. When the Benedictines established St. Procopius Abbey at St. Procopius Parish, Fr. Jaeger was chosen as its first abbot. The rectory served as the abbey until it was moved to Lisle, Illinois in 1914.
With Fr. Jaeger as abbot, Fr. Valentine Kohlbeck, OSB, became pastor (1894-1897). Earlier, Fr. Kohlbeck had organized the Bohemian Benedictine Press in 1889 in the buildings north of the present rectory. The Press had tremendous influence during its 86 years of operation.
Fr. Procopius Neuil, OSB, became the next pastor (1897-1914). In 1897 St. Procopius College (destined to become Benedictine University in Lisle, Illinois) began classes in the building immediately to the east of the rectory. Work to construct the chapel to Our Lady of Lourdes began in 1906. Archbishop James E. Quigley dedicated this chapel on October 3, 1908. In 1912 the empty lots on 16th and Racine were bought for $18,207 as a school playground.
Under Fr. Method Vone, OSB, as pastor (1914-1916), the Bohemian Benedictine Press began three publications: a daily newspaper, Národ, (Nation) for the Chicago area; Katolík, for subscribers outside Chicago; and Pítel Dítek, (Children's Friend) for youth.
During Fr. Joseph Chvátal's first term as pastor (1916-1927), the parish celebrated its Golden Jubilee. When Fr. Chvátal was appointed manager of the Press, Fr. Alphonse Biskup, OSB, became the next pastor (1927-1929). He resigned due to poor health. Fr. Alois Keclík, OSB, succeeded him as pastor but died very suddenly in 1930. Fr. Dominic Kotek, OSB, served as administrator in the months following Fr. Keclík's death.
During almost all the years between 1925 and his death in 1974, Fr. Dominic served in this parish. Every day, for years, he stood outside greeting people--especially the children who eagerly sought his kindly attention.
Fr. Cosmas Veselý, OSB, was named pastor (1930-1936). During Fr. Veselý's tenure the church was redecorated and repainted, and the stained glass reset in the windows. He then left the parish to go to China as a missionary. Fr. Dominic Kotek again served as administrator. Fr. Raymond Koman, OSB, became pastor (1937-1941) and updated the church's electrical system. He organized the Ladies Social Club which raised much of the money for the church floor. The women of the Social Club are still active in the parish to this day.
Fr. Chvátal, OSB, began his second term as pastor (1941-1950). He made improvements within the church and school while the parish high school gained State accreditation. Fr. Chvátal served St. Procopius for over twenty years--more years than any other pastor,
Fr. Peter Mizera, OSB, the next pastor (1950-1966), found much work to be done. The convent was in poor repair and the City declared the school "unfit for further use." In the spring of 1952, the school was torn down to its brick walls, completely renovated, and re-opened for classes by autumn, 1953--at a cost exceeding a quarter million dollars. The fundraising activities of the loyal and zealous parishioners paid off the entire debt by 1962. Then they raised funds for a new convent, completed in 1964.
Meanwhile, the parish experienced cultural and language changes. The University of Illinois began to construct its campus north of Roosevelt Road, displacing the Spanish-speaking families. Families from Mexico, the border states, and exiles from the Soviet subjection of Czechoslovakia began to move into the neighborhood in increasing numbers.
Fr. Matthew Herda, OSB, assisted in the parish and began weekly Masses in Spanish in the 1960's. He also added Czech Masses at this time. The Mexican Social Club of St. Procopius also began in 1961. The following year, novenas to Our Lady of Guadalupe became a parish devotion.
Fr. Charles Kolek, OSB, the parish's next pastor (1966-1983), brought the Cursillos de Cristiandad, or renewal retreats, to the parish in 1966. Fr. Tomás Riós, a diocesan priest from Mexico, helped with the Cursillos. The Shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe was built in the garden next to the church and dedicated in 1966. Beginning in 1975, the Mexican parishioners raised money for the parish with outdoor street carnivals, or kermes.
Since 1977 the Catholic parishes of Pilsen conduct the Good Friday "Living Way of the Cross" involving between 8,000 and 10,000 people. The procession route is about two miles long and passes St. Procopius on the way to Harrison Park at 18th and Damen, where the crucifixion scene takes place. Cardinals Joseph Bernardin and Francis George have led the final prayer and homily on numerous occasions.
Fr. Terence Fitzmaurice, OSB, came to the parish in 1967 and became its last Benedictine pastor (1983-1986). With his leadership, the church ran a summer-job program for 500 young people beginning in 1969; converted the Benedictine Press building into the Youth Center in 1975 (offering boxing, recreation, and social activities); and provided meals for the needy. Fr. Terence received the St. John Bosco Award for his ministry to troubled youth.
The Benedictines returned administration of the parish to the Archdiocese in 1986, ending a century of pastoral ministry in Pilsen. The parish was saddened when Fr. Terence, and thus the Benedictine presence, left St. Procopius.
ST. PROCOPIUS AN ARCHDIOCESAN PARISH AGAIN
Fr. Ted O'Keefe became the first Archdiocesan priest since 1885 to serve as pastor (1986-1989) of St. Procopius. Fr. O'Keefe organized the Parish Council; he modernized the church interior; and, to promote Scriptural reflection on daily life, he began our parish's Small Christian Communities (CEBs). The Charismatic Prayer Group was organized in 1987 and continues to the present day.
In 1986 the Missionaries of Charity opened a House of Formation between the school and the former youth center now occupied by Loyola Center. They began Daily Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in the Lourdes Chapel in 1995.
Fr. Don Nevins became pastor (1989-1992) and increased the number of CEBs. In 1990 the parishes of Pilsen organized The Resurrection Project to provide social outreach and affordable housing. Fr. Manuel Myvett, SVD, (1991-1995) increased the evangelical outreach of St. Procopius and neighboring parishes through his celebration of the Eucharist, and by animating their pastoral programs and CEBs. Most recently, Esperanza Familiar, or Family Hope, was established as a family development initiative under The Resurrection Project.
THE CHICAGO PROVINCE JESUITS AT ST. PROCOPIUS
The Jesuits accepted the pastoral ministry at St. Procopius with the hope of developing educational ministries to the Pilsen area. Fr. James Schulz, SJ, was named the first Jesuit pastor (1992-1994). The staff included a Director of Religious Education and a Director of Youth Ministry.
The "Pilsen Project" brought about two new institutions and a revitalization of the parish school. Sr. Judy Murphy, OSB, became the first Director of the Loyola Center for adult education; Mr. Daniel Loftus is the present Director. In 1993 Fr. Bradley Schaeffer, SJ, (then Provincial of the Chicago Province of the Jesuits) asked Fr. James Gartland, SJ, to do a year-long feasibility study regarding the educational needs of the Mexican-American communities in Pilsen and Little Village. His study led to the 1996 establishment of Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, with Fr. John P. Foley, SJ, as its first president.
Fr. James Gartland, SJ, became pastor (1994-1999). Father Charles Niehaus, SJ, became assistant pastor in 1995. Under Fr. Gartland's leadership, and with Ms. Karen Beeman as the principal, St. Procopius Elementary School educates its 250 students to be academically proficient in both English and Spanish. The school seeks to preserve and develop the culture of the community and to encourage academic, social, and spiritual growth. St. Procopius is the only dual language elementary school in the Archdiocese.
The December novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe and the August novena to La Virgen de San Juan de los Lagos have flourished as times of prayer and celebration.
Fr. Timothy Howe, SJ, became St. Procopius's 19th pastor on July 1, 1999. He heads a Catholic community founded by hardy Czechs recovering from the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. In 1890 the parish saw barricades at 18th and Racine to control unrest long after the 1886 Haymarket Riot. During the Columbian Exposition, the Bohemian composer Dr. Antonin Dvorak visited the parish. US President William Taft visited as a guest of the school's children in 1912. Mother Teresa visited us in 1986. The parish priests have baptized 58,612 persons and married 7,481 couples at St. Procopius. Parish families have fostered over eighty vocations to the priesthood and religious life. Many thousands of first- and second-generation Czechs and Mexicans and others were nourished in their faith commitment and found God's presence at St. Procopius.
Fr. Howe's tenure brings into the new millennium both the parish's rich history and its new pastoral and educational programs. St. Procopius was and is a spiritual home to people of many backgrounds--a sign of Christ's presence in Pilsen.
The parish's pastoral ministry has always included a strong commitment to the education and Christian formation of its youth. Beginning with fourteen students in 1876, combined enrollment in both the high school (closed in 1981) and elementary school at one time exceeded twelve hundred students. St. Procopius is deeply indebted to the Franciscan Sisters of Mary Immaculate of Joliet, Illinois, who served the parish between 1876 and 1986. During that time, 288 Franciscan sisters taught in this parish for a total of 1,444 teaching years. Thirteen School Sisters of Notre Dame of Milwaukee served the parish between 1973 and 1993 for a total of 76 years of educational and pastoral ministry. St. Procopius has been truly blessed by these religious women. Everyone remembers them fondly and thanks them for their tireless years of teaching.
We who are the St. Procopius community at the dawn of a new millennium--priests, administrators, teachers, staff, students, and parishioners--acknowledge and are thankful to our 19th and 20th century predecessors. They began, built up, and adapted to their times the Church's timeless roles: to worship, to teach, to serve, and to bring Christ's presence to Pilsen. The people of St. Procopius Parish have celebrated the Eucharist on the same corner, 18th and Allport, for 125 continuous years. The examples of our predecessors bless the present as we move with Christ into the future.
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