History of St. Germaine Parish
On June 2, 1962, Fr. Walter J. Sheridan was called to the
office of Albert Cardinal Meyer, and charged with the task of founding
a new parish in the vicinity of 95th and Kildare in Oak Lawn. That
brief encounter marked the beginning of forty years of remarkable
history for our parish of St. Germaine.
By July 1 word spread around the neighborhood that Mass would be
celebrated that day at Brother Rice High School. Within weeks
boundaries for the new parish were established, “St. Germaine”
was chosen from the pantheon of saints to be our name and patroness,
the Columban Fathers were enlisted to help celebrate Mass, and the
Presentation Sisters of Dubuque, Iowa, agreed to help found a parish
grade school.
A house was acquired at 99th and Kenton to serve as a temporary
rectory. A chapel was constructed there and the first Mass inside
parish boundaries was offered on November 19, 1962. Daily Masses were
offered, confessions heard, and baptisms administered until the new
church opened.
Fund-raising began in March 1963, and groundbreaking for the church and
school began on August 4. Mass was offered in the new church for the
first time on July 26, 1964, and was by then the spiritual home for
nearly 1000 families.
St. Germaine School opened its doors in September with 250 students in
grades 1 - 4, and has been an integral part of the parish ever since,
touching and forming the lives of thousands of children in the faith of
Jesus Christ. Those seminal events set into motion a blur of activity,
friendship, service, education, faith, and family that has endured ever
since.
God sent us fine priests, sisters, and deacons to teach us the good
news, and they were welcomed and loved in return. God blessed us with
gifts to share, and we have spent them joyfully in the service of God
and others. God gave us children, and we have made of St. Germaine
Parish a place for them to call home.
In the beginning there was only the Women's Club and Holy Name Society
to bear the burden of lay ministry and leadership. Since then an
amazing array of parish organizations and ministries has emerged to
meet the needs of the parish, community, and world.
God has been good to our parish through the years. There is much yet to
accomplish if His Kingdom is to be built in this place, but the people
of St. Germaine have remarkable energy, faith, perseverance, and hope.
We take seriously the challenge of Jesus to be his family, and to live
and proclaim the Good News.
Together we will build our future upon the dreams and accomplishments
of those who, forty years ago, founded the Parish Family of St.
Germaine.