St Mary of Immaculate Conception - Kankakee, IL

ST. MARY OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION CHURCH
Taken from the Church Bulletin, March 5, 1989.
St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Church, Kankakee, will close
permanently March 4, 1989. The sacramental books will be transferred to St.
Rose of Lima Parish, Kankakee. In this way, parishioners who were baptized,
confirmed, married, or had relatives burled from Immaculate Conception will
still be able to obtain records of that event with a minimum of inconvenience.
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(Taken from http://www.kvgs.org/theakiki/tkkv19n2.pdf)

 St Mary was the church for the German immigrants to the region, (which, though principally French, had a significant population of Irish, and Poles as well).  The structure depicted her is the 1901 building which replaced an earlier 1900 version which fell casualty to a fire. Kankakee grew up largely due to the arrival of the Illinois Central Railraod (now owned by the Canadian National).

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ilkankak/history/k3hist06/k30615.html 


The source also notes that...

"The Catholics of Kankakee display remarkable activity in their literary and dramatic clubs, and in their social and religious organizations for men and women. The Club Français and the Knights of Columbus are two very thriving societies. The Union of St. Joseph, the Foresters and the Lady Foresters are also successful religious and charitable organizations, and have courts in all of the important parishes of the county. The college and convent education which a large portion of the younger generation enjoy in Kankakee and Bourbonnais renders them amenable to promoting and actively participating in dramatic and musical entertainments of the highest order, as well as keenly appreciative of the monthly lectures in English or French given yearly during the winter season."


One hopes that overall community is still as vibrant, though it is obvious that St Mary fell on hard times. I am trying to give a mix of scenarios in my recent posts: churches that are thriving, churches alive but in peril, churches that are closed, and we shall even  yet see if you will, churches that no longer exist.   I must break from the custom of internal shots, for I have none.  If by any means I can obtain some, I will certainly append them to this post, or revisit this church in a subsequent post. Here are a few external images


http://picasaweb.google.com/DocMeadows85/61109Kankakee#5506765642244534770