St. Joseph Catholic Church (Wilmette, Illinois) facts for kids
St. Joseph Catholic Church is a special place of worship in Wilmette, Illinois, United States. It's a part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago. You can find it at the corner of Lake Avenue and Ridge Road. This church is so important that it's listed on both the Wilmette Register of Historic Properties and the National Register of Historic Places.
The church's story began in 1842 as a small "Log Cabin Mission." It became a recognized parish in 1845, thanks to Chicago's first Catholic bishop, William Quarter. It was created to serve German Catholic immigrants who had moved there from Trier, Germany. The first priest, Father G.H. Plathe, started in 1845. He was followed by Father Johann Fortmann in 1847. In 1852, Father Fortmann was asked to start a new church, St. Henry's, closer to downtown Chicago. This made the people of St. Joseph's sad, and for a few months, their church went back to being a "Mission" because it was hard to find a new priest for the isolated area.
After several priests served for short times, Father William Netstraeter became the pastor in 1872. He stayed for five decades, which is 50 years! He also helped the community by becoming a Wilmette trustee and helped start New Trier High School. In 1873, the church opened a school. Nuns from Milwaukee's School Sisters of St. Francis taught there from 1877 until 1981. The Archdiocese of Chicago closed the school in 1986, but families from the church worked hard and reopened it ten years later.
Building the New Church in 1939
When Father Netstraeter passed away in 1924, his will said that money from his estate should be used to build a brand new church. There was one condition: if his money wasn't enough, the church members would need to help pay the rest. The people didn't know about this generous gift and weren't ready to start building in 1924. The old St. Joseph's Church was located where the school's parking lot is now, next to the cemetery. Since the parish wasn't ready, Cardinal George Mundelein borrowed the money. It was used to help build the University of St. Mary of the Lake.
Thirteen years later, in 1937, something unexpected happened. St. Joseph's Parish was sued by distant relatives in Germany who claimed to be Father Netstraeter's family. They wanted to get the money mentioned in his will. This lawsuit was seen as a trick by the Nazi Party. They were trying to get back at Cardinal Mundelein because he had spoken out against Adolf Hitler. A Chicago court decided that Father Netstraeter's will was valid. The money was quickly returned to St. Joseph's, and construction on the new church began right away. The new church was finished in 1939. Its dedication ceremony in October was Cardinal Mundelein's last public event before he passed away.
In the 1990s, the church building was jokingly called the "cathedral of the north shore" by the parish secretary, Maria Friedrich. After she passed away in 2008, people started using that nickname as a way to remember her.
St. Francis Xavier Church started in 1904. In 2019, it joined with St. Joseph Parish. St. Francis Xavier Church is also in Wilmette, at the corner of Linden Avenue and 9th Street. The stories of how both churches were founded were featured in a 2023 documentary called Holy Ground.
Pastors of St. Joseph's Wilmette
- Father Gerhard M. Plathe (1845-1847)
- Father Johann "Henry" N. Fortmann (1847-1852)
- Father J.B.U. Jacoment (1852)
- Father Lawrence Kuepfer (1852-1853)
- Father Nicholas Stauder (1853-1855)
- Father Anthony Kopp (1855-1860)
- Father Peter Kartlaub (1860)
- Father Tschider (1861)
- Father Franz Blaesinger (1861-1864)
- Father Bernard Heskemann (1864-1872)
- Father William Netstraeter (1872-1923)
- Monsignor John Neumann (1923-1964)
- Monsignor Charles Meter (1964-1981)
- Father Donald Cusack (1982-1993)
- Bishop Francis J. Kane (1993-2003)
- Monsignor John Pollard (2003-2010)
- Father Robert Tonelli (2010-2017)
- Monsignor Daniel Mayall (2017-2019)
- Father Wayne F. Watts (2019-present)
