By: By Tom Dermody

STREATOR — The four Catholic parishes that have served this community for a century and beyond will consolidate into one new parish effective Sept. 29, according to a plan approved by Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC.

The new parish, formally established by Bishop Jenky on July 1, will be named St. Michael the Archangel — the patron of the original church built by pioneer Catholics of Streator in 1870.

All four previously existing parishes — Immaculate Conception (which traces its roots to St. Michael’s), St. Anthony of Padua, St. Stephen’s, and St. Casimir’s — will close on Sept. 29. After that date, the new faith community will worship together at the largest of the four churches, St. Stephen’s, while members make decisions about a future that could include the building of a new church.

St. Anthony’s School, which now serves the entire Streator Catholic Community and region, is also being renamed St. Michael the Archangel Catholic School.

The historic moves come three years after Bishop Jenky wrote a letter to all Streator-area Catholics asking them to work with their pastors toward a consolidated parish “in order to establish a strong, vibrant Catholic presence in Streator for the 21st and 22nd centuries.”

By that time, pastors in Streator had already started preliminary discussions about the future and establishing greater cooperation among the parishes. A committee comprised of three leaders from each of the active parishes (Masses at St. Casimir’s were suspended in 2003) was formed to help develop a plan for a vision of “One Parish, One School, One Church.”

Msgr. John Prendergast, a Streator native who has been pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish since 2002 and last spring was named pastor or administrator of all four parishes, has been appointed pastor of the new St. Michael the Archangel Parish.

TO VOTE ON CHURCH OPTIONS
In addressing the changes at all Masses in Streator last weekend, Msgr. Prendergast announced that parishioners will have two opportunities in the coming weeks to set the direction for the new parish’s future.

First, this fall they will be asked to vote for one of three options regarding their new church:

1) To remain at St. Stephen’s Church, which would be renovated to meet the needs of the consolidated parish;

2) To build a new church on a parcel of land recently purchased by Msgr. Prendergast on the east edge of town, or

3) To build a new church on the site of the present St. Anthony’s Church and Rectory just south of downtown.

Msgr. Prendergast said Duncan D. Stroik, a leading architect and a professor at the University of Notre Dame, visited Streator last week. He toured the existing churches, and has been asked to submit a design for a new, traditional church that will incorporate elements — stained glass windows, statues, etc. — from the historic churches.

“I asked him to come up with a concept that will capture our traditions in a size appropriate for this community,” said Msgr. Prendergast. Design concepts for the new church’s exterior and interior will be ready for parish viewing by mid-September.

In addition, a feasibility study for a capital campaign will be conducted in October. The results of that study will also help chart the new parish’s future.

WHY CHANGE IS NECESSARY
At last weekend’s Masses, while Msgr. Prendergast stressed the changes are necessitated by finances — “We cannot go on living like we have in the past. There simply isn’t enough money,” he said — he emphasized that the Catholics of Streator are generous.

“You’re giving at a higher rate than other Catholic parishes in the Midwest,” he said. But maintaining four aging churches in close proximity as well as their accompanying rectories, other facilities and the community’s Catholic school is no longer feasible or prudent.

A financial report published in the May 2 parish bulletin showed that both St. Anthony’s and St. Stephen’s operated at deficits last year, with only Immaculate Conception in the black, but not enough to offset the others’ losses.

In addition, Msgr. Prendergast told The Catholic Post the Catholic landscape of Streator has shifted throughout its history.

Streator was a thriving coal mining community in the late 19th century when its Catholic parishes began to form. At that time, parishes were established along ethnic lines — St. Anthony’s (1881) for German Catholics, St. Stephen’s (1883) for Slovak Catholics, and St. Casimir’s (1916) for Polish Catholics. The ethnic parish identity remained strong for most of the 20th century, but began to wane in its later decades.

Meanwhile, the number of Catholics — and the number of priests available to serve them — has declined.

When Msgr. Prendergast made his First Communion in Streator in 1952, the community had 3,200 Catholic households, three Catholic schools serving 1,000 students, and the four parishes were served by 10 priests. Now there are 1,950 Catholic households, one Catholic school serving 105 children (another 200 are in CCD), and the three active parishes are served by two priests.

“We can’t support the ethnic model the same way we did in the past because of the limits of human and financial resources,” said Msgr. Prendergast.

While the ethnic parish model served its time well, Bishop Jenky and other U.S. bishops are now emphasizing unity, not diversity, said Msgr. Prendergast.

“Bishop Jenky’s model is a unified parish,” he said. For example, Spanish-speaking Catholics around the diocese — including in Streator — are incorporated into existing parishes.

St. Michael the Archangel Parish will honor the rich history of the four current parishes in several ways. Many of the annual celebrations and feast days now observed will continue.

In March, Msgr. Prendergast presented the plan he developed with members of each of the four parishes to the Presbyteral Council of the Diocese of Peoria. The Presbyteral Council reviewed the detailed presentation and agreed that this plan was in the best long-term interest of the Catholic Church in Streator.

All affected parishes are now including a prayer to St. Michael the Archangel at the end of their petitions at Mass “to give us wisdom and guidance for our future” and to help parishioners work with one another in charity, said Msgr. Prendergast.