The
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Catholic Church had its beginning dating back to the coal mining
days of our city in 1889. The immigrants that settled Coal City
brought with them their hopes and dreams but more importantly their
Faith.
So it was soon
reported in the Morris Herald in 1888, that
“the Catholics of Coal City are taking immediate steps toward the
erection of a church.”
(note: The bricks for the church were hauled
by horse and wagon from the train depot.)
In those early days, the people who settled
in Coal City were mostly of Italian descent, and so Father DeParadis,
an Italian himself, became the first pastor of our church in
February 1889.
As can be expected with the passage of time,
our Parish has become richly diverse in the body of Christ
as people of one faith.
Our Church was dedicated on the Feast of the Assumption of the
Blessed Virgin Mary August 15, 1892.
And since that time has continued to bring
Faith Hope Compassion and the Love of Jesus to both parishioners and
non-parishioners
throughout the Coal City area.
From the beginning, our Parish has been
blessed with many good and holy priests who served well both God and
fellow man.
As a parish, we have always shared our
blessings in good times and bad with each other and our community.
For example, during WWI our Parish was
blessed with Father James A. Griffin.
He served not only our parishioners but the
people at large in Coal City.
He was on the war review board, he wrote
letters and acted on behalf of miners (who could not read or write)
whose sons were missing in action in France. He also was the chairman
of the Coal City War Savings Club, chairman of the financial
committee of the Red Cross, and director of the drives for
membership and funds for the national organization.
He was the first to open a school for the
Americanization of foreign born persons living in Grundy County.
During the flu epidemic, when the high
school was used for a hospital, very often the only “doctor” many
people saw was Fr. Griffin. As a final feather in his cap the dear
pastor built the school. Of course as good as he was we could not
keep him to ourselves.
He was pastor here from 1917 to 1921 some
time after that, his holiness earned him the honor of Bishop of
Springfield in 1924.
Fortunately
for our Parish,
through the years we have kept that same
goodness exemplified by Father Griffin. Assumption of the Blessed
virgin Mary Parish today still offers
meals to the less fortunate through St Vincents Table and we lend a
helping hand to those who are struggling through
Our Lady of Mercy fund.
We participate in Coal City Food Pantry and
each Christmas lend our facilities to gathering, sorting, and
distributing food & goods needed by the poor throughout our area.
We are ready at every moment to help
mother’s in distress and look for ways to assist and comfort those
suffering from disasters.
Spiritual
formation is an important part of every parish, so, in our Chapel,
Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is available 24/7.
We
encourage parishioners and friends to come
for prayer in the sacramental presence of the Lord. As with most
parishes, our church provides for the faith, service and social
formation from childhood to the senior years, offering a
Religious Education Program, Youth group
(Teens for Christ),Rosary groups, service groups, like the Martha’s
and a variety of other ministries within our Parish.
Fr. Robert Noesen was named pastor in June, 2009. Having served as
part-time associate since 1991, Fr.Noesen previously served at Holy
Trinity Parish in Westmont as the Parochial Vicar.
In these few months since his arrival our
parish is growing and thriving spiritually under his direction.
We invite
everyone to come and experience
apostolic faith and all its works, alive and
well here at the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church, where
the faith of the people has remained strong
and carried them through the years since 1889.