St. Patrick's Catholic Church

Serving in Momence, IL

Online Liturgy for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time - January 23, 2022

Celebrated at St. Patrick's Church - Momence, IL

Fr. Pete Jankowski has been celebrating all Masses on behalf of the parishioners of St. Patrick's Church (Momence) and St. Anne's Church (St. Anne) who are not able to church. Feel free to invite others to join our Masses if they are not able to join their own parish communities – we will never get large enough to worry about too many people that come and join us (and what a wonderful dilemma it would be if they did!). All we ask you to do is bring your own chairs to the Masses, bring your own masks and observe social distancing. For Social Distancing Guidelines, Please CLICK HERE (English Instructions) or CLICK HERE (Spanish Instructions).

Please continue to support our local parishes – we need your support to continue spreading God’s mercy during these difficult times.

To support the mission of St. Patrick's Church, please contact us at (815) 472-2864 or write us at 119 North Market Street - Momence, IL 60954.

To support the mission of St. Anne's Church, please contact us at (815) 427-8265 or write us at PO Box 470 - St. Anne, IL 60964.

Congratualtions to the Students of the Border Town (or, at least, those who could

weather the Snowstorms!) for Receiving Their First Confessions in February 2021!!!

Previous Online Masses, Blessings and Services...

January 16, 2022 (The Second Sunday in Ordinary Time)

January 23, 2022 (The Third Sunday in Ordinary Time)

January 30, 2022 (The Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time)

(The Solemnity of the Epiphany)

January 9, 2022

(The Baptism of the Lord)

(The Solemnity of the Holy Family)

November 7, 2021 (The 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time)

November 14, 2021 (The 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time)

November 21, 2021 (The 34th Sunday in Ordinary Time - THE SOLEM. OF CHRIST THE KING)

October 17, 2021 (The 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

September 26, 2021 (The 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

September 5, 2021 (The 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time)

September 12, 2021 (The 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

September 19, 2021 (The 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

To View all Our Previous Masses

(Starting with the 3rd Sunday of Lent 2020),

PLEASE CLICK HERE!!!

St. Anne Novena

For the 141st time, St. Anne's Church hosts this special nine-day devotion in honor of the Mother of the BVM and the relic that has cured scores of faithful throught the world.

CONGRATULATIONS to our students receiving First Communion at St. Patrick's Church (May 2, 2021). Thanks to John Rehmer , as well as the catechists, for their really holy work during some very trying times!!!

For First Communion Pictures at St. Patrick's, CLICK HERE!

Congratulations to our Confirmandi and Newly Baptized who

Received Their Sacraments at St. Patrick's Church on Easter Weekend!!!

To View Photos, CLICK HERE!!!

At the "Our Lady of Lourdes" Grotto at St. Patrick's Church in Momence, a family of First Communion children gather to celebrate this sacrament OUTDOORS on June 21, 2020. Much thanks to DRE John Rehmer and the First Communion Catechists for helping our students receive this most sacred gift!

CLICK HERE to Read the Alumni Fall Festival Letter!

CLICK HERE to Read the September 2021 Edition of the St. Patrick's Alumni Newsletter!

CLICK HERE to Read the July 2021 Edition of the St. Patrick's Alumni Newsletter!

CLICK HERE to Read the June 2021 Edition of the St. Patrick's Alumni Newsletter!!!

CLICK HERE to Read the March 2020 Edition

of the St. Patrick's Alumni Newsletter!

Much thanks to an anonymous donor who, in part, chose to donate their "Trump Money" to help purchase the 70" Divine Mercy image that now adorns the St. Patrick's sanctuary.

Another group of donors wishes to help Sacred Heart Church wil their "Trump Money" in serving the poor through special projects on the property. We are most grateful for the charitable spirit of our parishioners and benefactors. Please continue to help support our local parishes - with your help... and your PRAYERS... we will be able to get through our struggles together!

Say Hello to our Upgraded St. Patrick's Statue

Thanks to artist Marlo Steinle coming out of "retirement" to help our cause, Marlo took a paint-soaked statue of St. Patrick's (donated by Bishop McNamara School), stripped the paint, fixed it and repainted it for our outdoor grotto!

Over at St. Patrick's Rectory, the house has been cleaned, pergo floors have been laid, the house has now been painted and beautified for parishioner use!

Say Hello to St. Patrick's Rectory Upgrades! The house has been cleaned, pergo floors have been laid, the house has now been painted and beautified for parishioner use!

We are a welcoming Catholic community called by God to live out the message of Christ in love and service to all people. These parishes east of Kankakee, IL served as "border town" churches in the mid-1800s, welcoming immigrants from throughlout the world. Our missions today is to do the same. St. Patrick's Church (the old border town from 1834) serves the Spanish and English-speaking communities of an old Dutch town. St. Anne's Church is the home of the National Shrine of St. Anne, brought to the states from France to Canada and then the US in the 1850s. Sacred Heart Church just celebrated its 80th anniversary; it is the poorest Church in the Joliet Diocese, the poorest city in Illinois and is the diocesan mission in great need of your help.

St. Patrick Parish was formed in 1859 with only thirty families, who then held Mass in their homes. From 1859-1890, it was a mission parish served by priests in neighboring St. George and St. Anne. It is said that the priests who tended the mission parish in those early days encountered many hardships since the means of travel were challenging. The Rev. E. LePoint first ministered to this little flock, choosing first one home, then another, for the locale of his services. As early as 1860, Fr. LePoint proposed to build a stone church but when Fr. P. Paradis began his supervision of the parish in 1862, he decided to erect a framed church instead and sold the excess stone that had been quarried from the rive, for the sum of twenty-two dollars.

The first chapel, thirty feet long and twenty-six wide, dedicated to Saint Patrick, started in September 1862, with the permission of the Most. Rev. Jason J. Dugan (then bishop of Chicago). Father Paradis was pastor of St. George at that time and had Momence as an out-mission.

It is interesting to find the following names among the first to help in erecting the first chapel – Savary, Hughes, Murphy, Bernier, Halpin, Paradis, Kirby, Fitzgerald, Malone, Campbell, Gelino, Sweeny and Tharien. The origin of the greater proportion of the first Catholic settlers of Kankakee explains the dedication of the parish to the glorious St. Patrick, apostle of Ireland.

Fr. Paradis was in charge from 1862-1872. From St. George, he was appointed to the pastorate of' St. Rose in Kankakee. In 1872, the Rev. Michael Letellier, pastor of St. Anne, took charge of the St. Patrick’s Mission. Through the courtesy of the C&EI railroad, he made his monthly trips on a handcar.

In fact, it is said that Rev. Joseph LeSage (1878-1886), used a hand car on the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad to get from St. George, where he was the pastor, to Momence.

Rev. P. Paradis had the first church built in 1862 by Catholic settlers who hauled logs and lumber from timber on the Kankakee River. The small timber structure measured 30 by 26 feet and was built where the present-day church stands today.

Rev. Joseph Lesage of St. George, next took care of the mission from 1878-1886, when the Rev. Z.S.P. Berard, pastor of St. Anne, was also given charge of Momence. The Rev. George Keraton was the first resident pastor of St. Patrick, coming in 1890.

By the 1880s, the parish outgrew the small chapel and Rev. Berard had a second larger frame church built. In 1886, the first rectory was built just south of the church.

In 1890, Rev. George Kerston was appointed the first resident pastor of St. Patrick’s, which then had 100 families in the parish.

The greatest development of the parish was witnessed under the incumbency of the Rev. A.L. Labrie (1896-1922) who, besides taking care of the spiritual needs of the flock, erected the St. Patrick's rectory as well (1896). He was instrumental in bringing the Sisters Servants of the Holy Heart of Mary (1906), who built the spacious and beautiful St. Patrick Academy. It was under Fr. Labrie, likewise, that the present commodious and artistic St. Patrick Church was built (1915), with the cornerstone being laid May 8.

The first Mass was held July 4, 1915. The cost of the church was $31,969, plus $7,633 for furnishings. The stained-glass windows, which are still present today, were donated by parishioners. Records show the windows were purchased in 1915 from John J. Kinsella & Co, in Chicago, makers of Art Glass. Original bills show the large transept window, “The Assumption” was $450; “St. John the Baptist” was $90 and “Our Lady of Lourdes,” $250. It is said that Rev. Labrie needed money for one last window and walked seven miles on a hot summer day to a parishioner’s house, in hopes of getting a donation.

In 1926, the grotto was erected in honor of the Virgin Mary, in the spirit of Our Lady of Lourdes. An altar was added for outdoor Masses in 2000.

Fr. Labrie was succeeded by the Rev. A.L. Girard (1923-1933) who through the generosity of M&M Harry B. Shaw put in the new marble altar, decorated the church and caused the landscaping to be done, which really makes, together with the Academy, a Catholic unit of which the citizens of Momence may be justly proud. Fr. Girard was appointed to St. John the Baptist, Chicago, in June 1933 and was replaced by the Rev. Telasfore U. Demarais, the present incumbent.

As years went on, there became a need for a church in Hopkins Park. Rev. Demarais, then pastor at St. Patrick’s and Sister Mary Adelaide Gagnon started a mission there in 1939. Men from St. Patrick’s donated time and material to help build Sacred Heart Mission, which is still operating today.

Former pastors Rev. AL Labrie, Rev. Telastore U. Demarais, Msgr. George Halpin, as well as Mr. Henry Halpin (the architect of our present church building) are all buried around the circle at St. Patrick’s Cemetery.

In 1980, the interior of St. Patrick’s was completely renovated through parishioner donations and in 1985 the old rectory was razed and a new one built.

St. Patrick Academy

The cornerstone for St. Patrick Academy was laid in 1906, under the direction of Rev. La Brie, who invited the Sister Servants of the Holy Heart of Mary to serve as teachers and administrators. It opened Aug. 8, 1907, and the sisters hosted an “open house” inviting everyone from the parish and surrounding area. People brought gifts, including dishes, pots, pans, towels, etc.

The school began as a small parish school and boarding school for girls and boys in elementary school, and girls in high school. The first year, there was 75-80 day-school pupils and six boarders. In those first years, there was no money for hired help so the sisters would rise at 3:00 a.m. to do wash. They spent their summers housecleaning, scrubbing and painting.

In 1924, with growing enrollment, came a new addition which included a chapel, new classroom and dormitories. In 1931 a gymnasium was built.

The last year for grade school boarders was 1961 and the last year for the all-girls high school was 1965. The sisters taught until 1972. The following year, the academy was purchased from them. In 1986, the unused convent portion was demolished and a new front exterior wall, complete with decorative cross, was built the following year. The school chapel was renovated in 1987. Unfortunately, the academy closed in 2009.

Help support our parishes buy purchasing copies of Fr. Pete's Homiletic Books! You can purchase them at the parishes or online at Amazon.com!

Cycle A Homilies

Cycle B Homilies

Cycle C Homilies

CLICK HERE to watch Fr. Pete's Videos that Walk Through the Liturgy, produced for the University of Dayton

CLICK HERE to watch Fr. Pete's Twelve Part Series "Stories on the Journey," Broadcast on Shalom World TV!

Join us for a Two Minute Video Tour of both St. Patrick's Church and the Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto at St. Patrick's as part of the "Heritage Days" online tour of the city.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW OUR 2020 ADVENT & CHRISTMAS OPPORTUNITIES!


Religious Education	Our Faith	Sacraments

Parish Photos	Events Calendar	Maps & Directions

Support St. Patrick's Church by Giving Online!

A Forty-Five Second Video on our Gym Renovation Project!!!

Watch St. Patrick's Our Lady of Guadalupe Celebrations from December 11-12!

Parishioner Jean Gibson invites you to experience what is called “Eucharistic Miracles of the World.” This website offers a great deal of information, with a “Virtual Tour” of various places around the globe that have encountered Christ in the most sacred of ways.To access this Website, CLICK HERE!!!

In a two-minute video, Three Masses are highlighted on May 23, 2021 at the Border Town Parishes ... Weather permitting, Sunday OUTDOOR Masses take place at St. Anne's Church (St. Anne, IL)at 9:00 a.m.and at St. Patrick's Church (Momence, IL) at 10:30 a.m. Please bring Your Own Chairs to the Mass!

An Online Memorial Day Service at St. Patrick's Cemetery in Momence

VIDEO EASTER HIGHLIGHTS AT ST. PATRICK'S CHURCH IN MOMENCE - APRIL 3-4

FR. PETE'S

ORDINATION MASS FROM JUNE 1, 1996

Fr. Pete was ordained twenty-five years ago at the Cathedral of St. Raymond. Please continue to pray for his ministry to the folks of the border town parishes.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE SERVICES DEC 12, 2020

Fr. Pete celebrated TWO Masses on December 12, 2020 - one outdoor Mass at the Camino & Esperanza Retreat House & Grotto in St. Anne, IL and the other at St. Patrick's Church in Momence. Thanks to everyone who made these wonderful events possible!

VETERANS' DAY MESSAGE

from the Border Town Parishes For the Benefit of the Manteno Veterans' Home. If you would like to support their cause, please CLICK HERE!

CONFIRMATION AT ST. PATRICK'S CHURCH IN MOMENCE

On September 6, twenty-two students from St. Patrick's Church received the sacrament of Confirmation at two special Masses iwith Fr. Pete Jankowski. Congratulations to our students and their families!!!