When Sharon McCarthy of Park Forest heard St. Mary Catholic Church would close its doors in July, she was in a state of shock.
“I was devastated,” she said. “We joined 45 years ago, and our daughter was baptized there. I am disappointed and heartbroken by the news. Even though it was small in numbers these days, it is such a friendly accepting church.
“It is so sad to see it go.”
The closing of the church on Monee Road in the Will County section of Park Forest, however, seemed imminent last year when the Joliet Diocese undertook a “Targeted Restructuring” process. St. Mary was on the list as were 21 other sites in the three-county area served by the diocese.
In a letter to the church, Bishop Ronald Hicks wrote St. Mary will close and, along with St. Boniface Catholic Church in Monee, would “amalgamate” into St. Liborius Catholic Church in Steger.
The changes will take place on July 1, thus allowing one last Mass on Sunday, June 29. On that same date three years ago, both St Irenaeus Catholic Church in Park Forest and St. Lawrence O’Toole Catholic Church in Matteson shut its doors.
The church once had a school which closed in 2011, and McCarthy was the school’s secretary. She admits that once there may have been as many as 500 parishioners but “we may be down to half of that now.”
These days, the closure of the church evokes wistful responses from congregants, past and present.
Sandy Drechny, who grew up in nearby Grant Park, said she “found something she was looking for at St. Mary.” Although she now lives in Dawson Springs, Kentucky, next to her daughter, she remembers the sense of interest of parishioners, adding “I so love that church.”
James Vieaux, of Park Forest, often took an active role in church activities yet somberly acknowledges that low attendance in recent years may have been a reason for its closing. However, he says the church was self-sustaining and “the building is in good condition.”
Vieaux echoed the comments of Bishop Hicks, as he cited declining Mass attendance, reduced Sunday collections and a shortage of priests as the need for a massive restructuring.
Melva Larrieu, of Park Forest, whose husband’s funeral service was held at the church, is concerned older parishioners may not be able to get to St. Liborius for Sunday Mass. The loss of any house of worship can be a devastating event, and she said this is the fourth church she has attended in the last few years and claims St. Mary is also the fourth church she attended that closed its doors.
If the church closing is buttoned down, there still remains the problem of what to do with the Park Forest Historical Society archives which overflow a large space in what used to be a large school room in the building.
If you read Paul Eisenberg’s superb account of the society’s collection in this newspaper, you understand its concern for its preservation.
Since its inception in 1985, the society has sought to preserve the village’s unique history, diversity and achievement. It began with files stored in the local library and under the watchful eye of Jane Nicoll, and over the years has grown into massive collections of documents, recordings and memorabilia, the storage of which became a problem.
Added to this was a problem, which echos the myth of Sisyphus, a mythological king who was condemned to roll a large boulder up a hill only to have it always roll down as it nears the top, on three separate occasions the society established a house museum in a rental apartment only to be later told it had to move.
The closing of the church is another falling rock.
Perhaps the one historical society event that draws interest is the annual induction into the Park Forest Hall of Fame. Nearly 250 people connected with the village’s history and well-being have been inducted since village founder Philip Klutznick was inducted in 1989.
This year Karen Blackful, Susan Blatchford, Ruth Smith, Julie Townsend and both the late Aaron and Rose Greenberg will be added to the list in an April 13 ceremony to be held at Freedom Hall.
Jerry Shnay, at Jerryshnay@gmail.com, is a freelance columnist for the Daily Southtown.
