Photogragh from La Grange Centennial History 1879-1979

The post-World War II boom and overcrowding at Saint Francis Xavier.  The Archbishop of Chicago Cardinal Stritch appointed Reverend Gerald Morrissey to form a new parish in La Grange. Father Morrissey established the parish on October 5, 1951, naming it in honor of Saint Cletus. Cletus served as the third pope of the Roman Catholic Church, and he died in a persecution of Christians about the year 92. The first Mass and subsequent services occurred in the United Auto Workers Civic Center at 55^th Street and East Avenue.

Six hundred worshippers attended the first Mass on October 21, 1951. The archbishop granted a loan of $450,000 to build a church/school/convent complex in the southern part of the Village, provided parishioners raised funds to furnish these buildings. The congregation obtained the required money, and Saint Cletus School opened in 1953.

On April 25, 1954, Cardinal Stritch dedicated the church, located at 600 55^th Street.

By 1959, the church, designed to serve 450 families living in the area in 1951, had 1,600 families in regular attendance.

Workers broke ground for a new church and rectory in 1960, the same year that a school expansion was completed. Three hundred sixty families also withdrew that year to form the parish of Saint John of the Cross in Western Springs.

Father Morrissey said the first Mass in the new building on Christmas Eve, 1961, and dedication ceremonies followed on May 20, 1962. The church boasted modern, uncluttered lines, with a 97-foot bell tower. In the Saint Francis of Assisi Chapel a magnificent mural made of 250,000 pieces of imported Italian Byzantine glass was assembled. It required 120 parishioners working for three months to complete the mural, which depicts the life of Saint Francis.

Father Morrissey remained pastor until his death in 1971. Father Charles G. Gallagher replaced him. On the 25^th anniversary of Saint Cletus in 1976, Father Gallagher reported that the parish served 2,080 families in the seven communities of La Grange, La Grange Highlands, Countryside, Hodgkins, Pleasantdale, Justice, and Willow Springs. School enrollment had been stable at 450 students for the five previous years.

Several sources were used in the compilation of these entries including but not limited to:

• Images of America -- La Grange and La Grange Park, Illinois by RoseAnna and Robert Mueller, Arcadia Publishing
• La Grange Centennial History 1879-1979, William J Cromie, Editor, La Grange Area Historical Society, 1979

Last Modified:  07/28/2002