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6750 W Montrose Ave :: Harwood Heights, Illinois :: tel (708) 8678817 :: fax (708) 8670774
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Parish History
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In 1956, the Archdiocese of Chicago decided that people in the newly founded town of Harwood Heights need an additional place of worship.
The original look of the Sanctuary.
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Other churches in the area were overcrowded and not able to provide the local faithful with the religious services they needed. In response to this rapid post-war developement, Fr. Stephen Ryan was chosen to solve the problem. He took residence with Monsignor McGowan, pastor of St. Priscilla's Church, just south of Harwood Heights. Next, he gauged the demand.
Sometimes described as formal and "stand-offish", Fr. Conrad didn't greet his parishoners after masses that only he could squeeze into twenty minutes.
The present look
of the Sanctuary.
A door-to-door census and parishoner registration for a new church was conducted. At what is roughly halfway between St. Monica's and St. Priscilla's Church, Fr. Ryan founded the Mission of St. Monica's; an extention of St. Monica's activities but not yet properly equipped to be called a parish. In fact,
The present look of the Sanctuary.
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it was the basement of a local grammar school, Union Ridge. This makeshift chapel was furnished with folding chairs, home made kneelers and other ceremonial articles donated by both catholic and protestant congregations. Needless to say, conditions were anything but comfortable. But, the great sense of community of the first parishoners brought them satisfaction with what they had. "We worked together" recalls parishoner Norb Adams. And indeed, there was plenty of reason to work together as the need was great. "People were always friendly" and "we were happy we could go to church here" remembers Lottie Grabarczyk, another long time parishoner. By now, shortly after Fr. Ryan's arrival, there were two sunday masses at the Mission of St. Monica: eight and ten in the morning. A temporary rectory was also bought at 7000 West Windsor Avenue, about three blocks from the Mission, which due to its nature as a school, was commonly called "St. Union Ridge". In 1957, there were fiveteen children receiving first communion and sixteen converts. As the fifties rolled on, it became apparent that the basement of Union Ridge School and the temporary rectory, which now had another makeshift chapel partitioned that held daily mass, baptisms, confessions, and even a few weddings, won't suffice indefinitely. That's when St. Rosalie's longest reigning pastor, Fr. Clement H. Conrad, came into play.
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