About

A History of St. John the Baptist Catholic Parish

Trainloads of lumber, steel and other building materials poured into Whiting along with a growing pool of laborers engaged in the building of the refinery. Among the influx of settlers were Slovaks who came from Joliet, Streator, Blue Island and Chicago in 1892 and 1893. Eventually, immigrants of Slavic origin made up over ninety percent of Whiting's population.

As the social structure took shape, organizations formed, including church, lodge and recreational groups. Among those groups was Branch 113 of the National Slovak lodge, organized in 1893 and including both catholic and non-catholics alike. Eventually, Catholic members of Branch 113 sought something more expressive of their faith and formed Branch #130 of the First Catholic Slovak Union.

At that time, catholics of the area were shepherded by the Church of the Sacred Heart, an Irish Church. Rev. Michael Byrne, a doughty priest who had been ordained in Fort Wayne, ministered to Whiting's catholic flock at Sacred Heart. The spiritual needs of the Slovaks in his flock did not go uncared for by Rev. Byrne. Occasionally, Rev. Valentine Kohlbeck of the Benedictine Fathers in Chicago would come to Whiting to hear confessions and preach in Slovak.

Sensing the need for a more permanent spiritual guide, Father Byrne, working with a committee from Branch 130, twice petitioned Bishop Joseph Rademacher in Fort Wayne for a Slavic priest. Demonstrating a showing of 50 prospective parishioners (twelve families and single persons) and having purchased property on which they built a social center (a little meeting hall for Branch #130), the Bishop gave a favorable response to the committee and agreed to write to Austria-Hungary for a Slovak priest.

Father Benedict Arrives Good news came back from Eastern Europe. Rev. Benedict M. Rajcany was on his way from the old country. He was scheduled to arrive in Hammond on April 17, 1897. Father Benedict arrived on that date, Holy Saturday, to find pre-easter hustle and bustle along with a landscape of flat sandy wastes, lakes, woods and only a few farm houses, far different than the well kept homeland landscape which he had just left.   A mass meeting was called for discussion of plans regarding the future of the parish and the church. After some lively democratic discussion and not a small bit of drama, a motion was made and passed that the little meeting hall would be transformed into a church. The church was dedicated on July 4th, 1897 to St. John the Baptist, because Father Benedict, the first pastor, himself felt like "one crying out in the wilderness" when he came to his new field of labor in the United States.   The photo at left is the first St. John the Baptist church, which was transformed from the little meeting hall of the First Catholic Slovak Union Branch #130.

The First School

The first beginnings of St. John’s school were indeed humble. Father Benedict was interested in the education of youth from the very start. He early joined with Dr. Putnam in organizing a little school consisting of seven or eight boys who were taught English. Father Benedict was the first teacher in the budding St. John’s Parochial School together with Miss Katherine Wade, the first lay teacher. Classes were first held in the back room of the rectory.

For a number of years, it was not possible to have even eight years of common school, because when pupils reached the age of eleven or twelve they were constrained to seek work and could no longer attend school. In the first years, the number of pupils hardly equaled thirty-five.   The progress of the school was very rapid. The first new school consisted of a four room frame building and a Sisters’ home. They were erected in 1900; and the next year, October, 10th, the school opened with seventy-five pupils. The new teachers were Sisters of Providence from St. Mary’s of the Woods in Terre Haute. By 1908-09, the number of students was 278. Two years later the number grew to 363 and by 1918, it had mounted to 685.   The old school is shown here in the photo on the right, inside the old church, below.

By the time the First World War began (1914), the church had to be enlarged to make room for the growing parish. An extension, all brick, was built in the front. A side entrance was built for the choir loft along with a shrine to our Lady of Lourdes. Facilities, including the Sisters’ home, had to be sold in order to construct new buildings to fit the growing Parish’s needs.   During this period and into the ‘20’s, Father Benedict sought help from other priests in ministering to the vast needs of the parish. In 1921, Fr. Benedict’s first assistant was formally appointed, the Rev. Michael Kosko who was Slovak by birth. Fr. Kosko was at St. John’s until 1923 and was instrumental in the formation of Immaculate Conception, another one of the beautiful Parishes of our cluster.

Troubled Waters

By the summer of 1921, Father Benedict decided to spend some time in Florida. It seems he may have made up his mind to settle in Florida and had begun to look for someone who would be satisfactory to succeed him. It was not an easy task. Father Benedict was disposed to emphasize the English language and rapid Americanization of his own people.

Father Joseph Zalibera, from Ohio was his choice. After Father Benedict was gone, Fathers Zalibera and Kosko were the only ones at hand who could speak Slovak. Difficulty soon followed. In a July 1921 mass, Fr. Zalibera stressed in his sermon the neglect of the Slovak tounge in both church and school. Subsequent occasions emphasized the same point. Father Benedict became the object of severe criticism, with a movement underway to remove him as pastor. Delegations were sent to the Bishop who refused removal knowing there were no grounds for the accusations.

When the Bishop did act, it was to remove Fr. Zalibera. Father Benedict was petitioned in Orlando to return to the parish. Not all were pleased. While preparing for his return, prowlers around the rectory hurled a stone through the window attempting to strike an occupant at table inside (believing it to be Father Benedict). Fortunately, the stone missed, but was unfortunately followed by anonymous, threatening letters vowing to kill Father Benedict if he returned to Whiting. Undeterred, Father Benedict did return. He promptly turned the tables on the anonymous ill-wishers by handing the letters to The Hammond Times. The letters were quite a sensation in the Parish and the community.

As the letters were written in the dialect of a certain region of Slovakia, Father Benedict, an adept linguist who spoke five languages, easily could identify the malcontents from the congregation. A detective was called in and confessions were quickly obtained. Cowed by public exposure and frightened by both the detectives and possibility of prison time, Father Benedict requested mercy for the perpetrators instead of justice. The incident abated.

Father Kostik Arrives

In September of 1925, Father John Kostik, CPPS a Precious Blood priest came to Whiting to become permanent assistant to Father Benedict. In addition to English and German, he could speak Slovak, Hungarian and Polish. He had a charm of character and great willingness to work that was admired by Father Benedict. As he watched Fr. Kostik work, Fr. Benedict realized he could well place in the hands of the young priest the charge he had taken up 30 years before. On December 18th, 1927, Bishop John F. Noll, following the suggestion of Fr. Benedict appointed Fr. Kostik pastor of St. John’s. Fr. Benedict returned to Florida.

Noteworthy in 1926 was the presentation of 'Mammy's Lil Wild Rose', a stage play. Shortly after the successful production, St. John's Drama Club was formed in 1928 under the direction of Jim LaPert, a long time leader and inspiration of St. John's drama community. St. John's Drama Club evolved into the Marian Theatre Guild we know today.   After Notable plays Now Adolph in 1928 and The Noble Outcast in 1929, the Drama Club assumed an important position in the social and educational work of St. John's. The organization was fortunate to have a group of gifted young actors and actresses at it's disposal along with the warm interest of Mr. LaPert, who directed over 60 plays over the years. In addition, Mr. LaPert was also instrumental in helping with the staging of liturgical celebrations in the church.     Mr. James LaPert is pictured here at left.

The New Church The principal task of the years that followed was the construction of a new church. The first work toward the building of the church was the breaking of ground on May 20th, 1930. The cornerstone was laid on July 6th, 1930. The ceremony was performed by Bishop Noll. The ceremony was large and well attended. Fr. Benedict was even in attendance and preached, receiving special warmth from the people.   The picture at the right was taken at the laying of the cornerstone. Quite a crowd was present on the day of the ceremony, Bishop Noll presiding.

A Challenging Undertaking The new church cost was $300,000. Collecting of funds was a daunting task given Fr. Kostik's limited understanding of financial management and the onset of the Great Depression. Fr. Kostik ascribed the success of the effort to the patronage of the Little Flower under whose protection the project was placed. In this period of financial stress and strain, the parish lost only $340.   Parish debt in 1932 stood at $192,000 and was cleared by 1942. Interest paid out in the 11 years amounted to $80,000 which was a huge amount considering the total parish income of 1929 was only about $56,000. The tremendous financial burden, was remarkably shouldered by a parish family population of roughly 600 families! After construction was completed, parishioner ranks swelled to over 700 families in 1937.   The present day church is the work of Herman Gaul, a Chicago architect and is a monument to his artistic talent. Contractors were the Minuda Brothers. Other contractors ranged from Hammond plasterers, to Chicago interior stoneworkers to Wisconsin woodworkers, to lighting fixture experts from Kentucky.

'A Monument to Undying Zeal' Work was finished in the summer of 1931, with dedication on June 21st. In the Ben Franklin News of June 17th, Fr. Cyril Ernst wrote, “Mid the hum of industry, the chimneys and smoke of Standard Oil and the flame of molten steel, this Temple of God raises its solitary tower of 190 feet towards the Heavens as a finger pointing the way of salvation. Here then, may they who man the monsters of industry find haven to worship their God within the peace and quiet of its walls. The new edifice is the result of the cooperation of a generous people with a zealous pastor, and will stand for ages as a monument to their undying zeal and effort.”

Architect Herman Gaul	Rt. Rev. Bishop Noll D. D.	Souvenir Dedication Book Cover

A picture of the church at the time it was finished is at the left. Note the absence of trees, bushes, the rectory and the row of period automobiles circa 1931.           Did you also know you can purchase a porcelain, electrically lit replica of St. John the Baptist Church? Replicas are available in the rectory for only $40.00!

Able Assistants

Father Kostik did not go unaided in these years. Priests of the Society of the Precious Blood provided many able assistants. His first assistant was Father Isidore Stadtherr who came to Whiting in 1927 and was a great help and at times a special line of defense against over-eager salesmen of the depression years. Also noteworthy was Father Cyril Ernst, appointed in 1929 and Father John Lefko, CPPS who was appointed assistant in 1938 upon Fr. Stadherr's promotion to pastor of St. Mary's Church in Centerville, Iowa.

It is during this point in the parish's history that the number of religious, social, athletic and arts-related (drama and choir) organizations became more numerous and active, due in great part to the industriousness and care of Frs. Stadherr and Ernst. For example, the new church had been planned with out a basement. However, Fr. Ernst insisted it should have one. He kept arguing the point even after the foundation and tile for the church floor had been laid. He argued the basement case citing need for meeting and club rooms while noting that no great degree of excavation was needed. He won out to the great benefit of the parish, creating what is now know as Benedict Hall.

Fr. Ernst also managed the remodelling of the old church into a gymnasium, to the joy of the young and the vehemence of the older folks who felt it would be sacrilege to play games where Holy Mass had been offered. Fr. Ernst was an able carpenter, unhappy unless building something, provided assistance to the gymnasium construction along with booths and a large Bingo stand for the big bazaars St. John's hosted every summer.   At left, Father Isidore Stadtherr   At right, Father Cyril Ernst

Firsts, Organizations and Departures

Among many firsts occurring in the parish at that time was the first mass of Father Gabriel Brenkus, CPPS, May 8th, 1932. It was the first of the 'First Masses' in the new church and was of special interest as it occurred on Mother's Day. Fr. Brenkus is noteworthy as 'one of ours'. He was born to St. John February 10, 1902 and joined the priesthood via the Precious Blood Seminary at Burkettsville, Ohio.

The Junior and Senior Daughters of Mary, the choir, the athletic club (particularly the basketball team), the dramatic club, the Young People's Sodalities, the Junior and Senior Holy Name Societies, Catholic Order of Foresters and other organizations all flourished at this time. Particularly noteworthy was St. John's drama community, churning out 42 productions in the twenty year period from 1928 to 1947.

April 17th, 1937 saw St. John's reach it's 40th anniversary. The auspicious occasion called for a celebration. Fr. Benedict returned from Florida for the special event. Festivities were well attended. Many clergy from the area and even Chicago attended. There were also more than 900 people at the jubilee ceremonies, including 30 members still living from the original parish. Whiting Mayor James T. McNamara and Hammond Mayor Frank R. Martin were there to extend their felicitations.   The photo at right gives an idea for how splendid St. John's the Baptist's early celebrations were.

Fr. Benedict's appearance at the Jubilee celebration was his last in the parish which he loved. Scarcely a month after the celebration, he died of a sudden heart attack on a train en route to Florida. His body was interred in the shadow of a large cross erected in the middle of St. John's cemetary by Fr. Kostik on May 29th, 1937.

St. John's first true tragedy stuck about five years later on 'picnic day' traditionally one of the longest remembered non-spiritual or academic activities. One summer Sunday after mass, children were loaded on to two trucks to be taken to Washington Park in Michigan City for an outing and picnic. Forty boys were in one truck and thirty girls in the other. At a South Shore train crossing, one of the drivers noticed too late a train was fast approaching and tried to stop his truck. Finding that impossible, his effort to speed across the tracks failed and the train plowed into the truck just back of the cab. The truck was crushed, killing four and injuring eleven, some severely.

Better events occurred in 1943, when the first Solemn Masses of John and Edward Homco, native sons of Whiting, were celebrated. Happily, Fr. Ed Homco celebrated his first mass in the newly decorated church with all pomp and ceremony. Two years later, Fr. Homco felt privileged to be assigned to St. John's after two years of priestly work elsewhere. He returned to St. John's in September of 1945.   Father Ed in his early days at St. John is pictured at the left.   Fr. Ed's appointment was the result of a change in Pastoral duties. Fr. Kostik, who had frequently been occupied in important duties for his community had been chosen for the Provincial Board. In that position, Fr. Kostik journeyed to Rome for discussions. He resided in Rome for a considerable part of the year. As a result of his loyal service, Fr. Kostik was appointed Superior of St. Charles Seminary and Motherhouse of the Fathers of the Precious Blood in the United States.

Fr. Kostik's appointment created a need for pastor at St. John's which was filled by Father John Lefko, CPPS, who had been the parish assistant since replacing Fr. Stadherr in 1938. Fr. Homco filled Fr. Lefko's assistant position.

In 1946, a renewed effort on the part of the pastor and assistants to reach youths not in the parochial school with religious education ran afoul of the Hammond School Board. The refusal of the Hammond School Board to permit the Catholic children to receive religious training in the public high school (Hammond Clark) during school hours was looked upon as evidence of a disregard of the will of the Catholic people of the area. The controversy saw much press and public conversation.

The fifty year Golden Jubilee occurred in 1947. It was crowded with spiritual and social events including missions, days of recollection, the Old-Timers Gathering and the stage play Career Angel, a basketball tournament, the card party, the dedication of the sacred mural, the Calendar Banquet, the Jubilee Jamboree Dance, the Spiritual Month of May and finally, 'The Day'. This was Sunday June 29th on the feasts of Sts. Peter and Paul. Bishop Noll celebrated the Pontifical Mass, Fr. Kostik preaching the sermon. In the afternoon, parishioners gathered at Eggers Field in Illinois for a jubilee picnic.

Expansion The first years of expansion at St. John's found pastor Lefko a leader admirably suited to the task. Having formulated creative plans for a new school according to modern patterns, Fr. Lefko prepared for a graduate degree at the University of Indiana shortly before his appointment as pastor. Envisioning a new school, Fr. Lefko issued a brief announcement in the Paranews of June 20, 1948: 'Work on the new school begins this week.'   A. M. Strauss is shown here on the left and Roy E. Clark, Jr. on the right

Plans were carefully drawn up. The new school would not interfere with the present school building. Less than a month later, the old gym was demolished, excavation for the new building rapidly following July 11th, 1948. In the Paranews, the planned school was referred to as 'The School of Tomorrow'. A. M. Strauss was selected as the architect, Roy Clark, Jr. was the builder and Howard C. Buckel the superintendent.   The school is shown here under construction in 1949. While outside professionals were retained, much project work was done by skilled parishioners.

Assistants changed again. Fr. Ernst moving on to Pastor at St. Joseph's Church in Wapakoneta, Ohio. Father John Blasick was appointed assistant and arrived in April of 1949.

The school was finished in 1950, solemnly dedicated by Bishop Noll as the St. John Parochial Center on March 5th. Tours and inspections were made available. Those first tours of the center were thrilling to those that participated. The building was planned as a facility that could accomodate many different activities for the parish seven days a week from 8:30am to midnight.   In May 1951, the top-floor convent was completed as was the Quonset Gym. It was erected on the site of the present parish home. A Paranews item read stated that the building was intended to be built at minimum cost with no pretention.

Changing of the Guard

On July 19th, 1953, Sunday masses announced that Father Lefko was to be transferred. Father Gabriel Brenkus, the first 'one of ours', was appointed pastor. An informal farewell gathering for Fr. Lefko occurred in the Panel Room.

On the feast of the Immaculate Conception in 1953, Fr. Homco celebrated his ten year anniversary. Fathers Semancik and Letko were ordained and celebrated their first masses in 1953/54. This time frame was noteworthy overall for the church because of Vatican II and for the cannonization of Gaspar del Bufalo, founder of the Precious Blood.

January of 1955 saw the death of John Francis Noll, the beloved archbishop that had celebrated at so many of St. John's milestone events. Seriously ill because of a stroke he had suffered in August of 1954, he was thought to be on the road to recovery. He was 80.

More Expansion In March of 1955, The Times Graphic of Whiting reported on the ground-breaking of a much needed addition to St. John's parochial center. Strauss and Clark once again were key on the project. On November 11th, 1956, Bishop Leo Pursley dedicated the new wing containing six classrooms, a school library, three sound-proofed music rooms, three meeting rooms, a sewing room, added panel room storage and serving facilities, a refreshment center, two meeting rooms with adjoining kitchenette (the Mural Room and Founders Room), the gymnasium and the Marian Memorial Auditorium.

The photo above was taken from what is now the back of the school, over ground that would soon be home to the Marian Memorial Auditorium and the new gymnasium. At the left is a Lincoln Avenue view of the expansion construction in progress.   A new diocese was formed in Northwest Indiana with Gary as episcopal in 1957. It was deemed that Lake, Porter, La Porte and Starke, with their large Catholic population and populous area merited separation from the distant Fort Wayne diocese. Monsignor Andrew G. Grutka chose the Church of Holy Angels in Gary as his episcopal cathedral.

Fr. Brenkus did not attend the episcopal consecration. He was in St. Catherine's with a serious illness. While initially the news wasn't good, Fr. Brenkus' condition improved over time and he was eventually released from the hospital. Happily, he celebrated his Silver Jubilee June 2nd, Bishop Grutka attending part of the celebration on June 5th. The long illness, however, took its toll. Fr. Brenkus was forced to give up his charge of St. John's and was replaced by Fr. Edward Homco, who was offically installed as pastor on July 14th.

Years of quiet progress followed. Noteworthy was the sale and dismantlement of the Quonset Hut Gymnasium. As practical as it had been, the old gym became obsolete with the completion of the new gymnasium in the Parochial Center expansion. It was sold and made into a church in 1958.

The '60's

In the beautifully renovated Chapel of the Assumption of Mary at Carthagena, Ohio, John Kalicky, in a class of eleven deacons, was raised to the priesthood on June 10th, 1961. Father Kalicky celebrated his first mass on June 11th, assisted as archpriest by pastor Fr. Homco. Two choirs, many priests, the Hol Name men and the Knights of Columbus all joined in celebration of the event.

On April 17th, 1962, Fr. Brenkus celebrated evening mass at St. John's then went to Phil Smidt's restaurant with Fr. Homco for supper. As he was finishing his meal, he suddenly slumped over the table. In a matter of moments, he was dead. He had said his last mass on the very same altar on which he had celebrated his first mass after ordination.

A number of notable occurrences happened in 1963. Well loved Pope John XXIII passed away on May 22nd. He was succeeded by Pope Paul VI. On a happier note, Father John Zvijak, Fr. Richard Elo and Fr. Joseph Hanish were ordained to the priesthood on June 8th. Work also began on interior decoration of the church. First order of business was the repairing and cleaning of the stained glass windows.

As recorded in the 75th Jubilee Year book, 1964's major concern was the decoration of the church. Many professionals along with an immense volunteer effort were involved. Work was very comprehensive, addressing everything from painting to detailed work in the sanctuary to varnishing of the woodwork and pews. Over $36,000 was collected to cover the basic contract, but other jobs had to be done by the parish outright like floorwork beneath the pews, flooring in the choir loft and tuck pointing. Final touches were added to the main altar, with the altar stone consecrated on May 7th. Embedded in the altar slab were sacred relics of the holy apostles Andrew, Jude and Thomas, of the martyrs Wenceslaus and Maria Goretti and of the confessor Casimir.

In March of 1966, bids were opened for the Rectory Project along with a symbolic ground-breaking ceremony. Plans for the new Rectory were finalized in early June, with a contract awarded for the project to Leo Reuth and Sons at a cost of $245,000. On July 7th, 1967, Bishop Grutka blessed the new, completed rectory in a simple ceremony on the feast of Saints Cyril and Methodius, patrons of the Slavic nations.   Though the new parish home was unready for occupancy, parishioners were invited to visit the new edifice. Only two months later, some of the rooms were occupied. The photo at right shows an overhead view of St. John's Parish in 1967.

On December 5th 1968, St. John's honored their pastor, Fr. Homco with a jubilee mass celebrating the 25th anniversary of his ordination. Father Kostik preached the homily at a 9:30am mass, followed by a 6:30pm mass later that day.

Father Kostik Passes

On Sunday, August 9th, 1970, Father John Kostik died at St. Catherine's hospital. He was stricken early in the evening in the rectory garden where he had gone to recite his beads. He was 75 years old. His last years were spent at St. John's serving in auxiliary roles until his retirement in August of 1969 as pastor emeritus. Father Kostik's Mass of Resurrection was concelebrated by many priests, chiefly including Bishop Grutka.

The close of 1971 ushered in St. John the Baptist Parish's Diamond Jubilee. January 1st's Paranews proudly announced "You'll be hearing Jubilee Year throughout this year of 1972....St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Whiting is 75 years old." And the Paranews was correct, the entire year of 1972 was filled with Jubilee activity.

Early in the year, but indirectly related to the Jubilee, was the blessing of the Knights of Columbus Hall by Bishop Grutka on January 15th. Many other events followed, including Jubilee dinners, a Birthday Party, Parish (Founders) Day, a large Holy Week and Easter celebration, Marian Theatre Guild presentations and a large Parish picnic.   Every event of the Jubilee year contained much activity and was attended by many parishioners. The afternoon Parish Day dinner was especially large. Hosted in the Panel Room, the April 23rd Chicken Dinner was referred to by the Paranews as "huge and hearty", serving 1,300 pounds of chicken to over 1,200 guests by 58 employees.   Just reading about the Chicken Dinner, you can almost taste the home cooking served up by the wonderful women who have worked as cooks in our Panel Room and Cafeteria over the years. Got a hankerin' right about now for some good old Slovak fare? Did you know you can purchase a copy of the Favorite Recipes of the St. John's Rosary Society Cookbook at the Rectory? It's $7.00 if you pick it up there and only $12.50 by mail!

Tom Puplava becomes principal of St. John School in 1973. It was an historic event in that Tom was the first lay principal of the school, which had been administered for years chiefly by the Sisters of Providence. Shortly after he assumed that role, the school celebrated its 25th anniversary in 1975. The festivities were capped by a rousing eighth grade play featuring old home movies of the school under construction.   The photo of Mr. Puplava at left appeared in the 1974-75 school yearbook.   Sadly in August of 1978, Pope Paul VI died, setting a chain of events in motion that would profoundly affect the Catholic church for nearly the next thirty years. On August 26th, Pope Paul was succeeded by John Paul I who lived only one month, dying September 28th. John Paul I was succeeded by John Paul II on October 16th, 1978. John Paul II, the first Slavic (Polish) Pope, turned out to be one of the most loved and influential popes of the 20th century.

John Paul II made a landmark visit to Chicago in October of 1979. It was an important event, as the city of Chicago has the largest population of Polish people outside of Poland. In addition, the entire Chicagoland area is settled by both Poles and many Slavs of other ethnic descent.   The Pope's mass at Grant Park was attended by hundreds of thousands of people. St. John the Baptist sent a large contingent of parishioners to the mass by bus, dropping them off more than a mile away from the Grant Park celebration.   The Chicago Archdiocese archive photo at right was taken in Grant Park during Pope John Paul II's historic 1979 Chicago visit.

The Changing Face of the Parish

In the late '70's and ino the eighties, two events changed the face of the St. John's Parish literally and figuratively. As subsequent generations of the original Slavic Whiting/Robertsdale community reached adulthood, they generally moved out of the Northwest Indiana region. Concurrently, a new community of immigrants began to re-infuse the Whiting/Robertsdale community with their presence, looking to settle here for the same reasons as the original Slavic founders: many industrial job availabilities and a strong sense of community.

This new infusion of immigrants helped to make Whiting/Robertsdale's cultural community and St. John's Parishwest Indiana region. Concurrently, a new community of immigrants began to re-infuse the Whiting/Robertsdale community with their presence, looking to settle here for the same reasons as the original Slavic founders: many industrial job availabilities and a strong sense of community.

This new infusion of immigrants helped to make Whiting/Robertsdale's cultural community and St. John's Parish family much more representative of the United States at large, as the new families moving to the community were primarily of spanish-speaking decent from as near by as East Chicago or Chicago, or as far away as Mexico and other countries.

At the same time, another phenomenon began to exert influence on St. John's Parish. The latter portion of the '60's thru the 70's and '80's saw significant reductions in the numbers of young men called religious to religious vocation. The impact started to be felt in the form of fewer priests in residence at the Parish, in the Gary Diocese and in the Precious Blood community at large.

Finally during these years, the physical church saw yet another redecoration process. In the summer of 1980, an announcement in the Paranews noted that the interior of the church was showing significant wear and that a redecoration of the church would need to start soon in order to be ready for the new church's 50th anniversary in 1981. Bids began to be solicited and donations collected shortly thereafter.

As it got going, the project had some hiccups. Initial bids came in astoundingly high and donations trickled in only slowly. More bids were requested and a donation drive organized. By November, the Parish Council had approved the work to go forward and by December almost $14,000 had been raised. In January, Fr. Homco and Bishop Grutka agreed on a project not to exceed $50,000 and the donation drive continued.

Amid the planning, church bells rang out loudly at 12:30pm on January 20th, 1981, on the release of the many American hostages held in Iran. Sunday's Paranews proclaimed in a bold headline 'FREE AT LAST! 444 DAYS!'

A contract was awarded to H. A. Green Decorating of Gary to repaint the church, improve lighting, sound and furniture in February. $37,000 had already been raised. Work began in the choir loft amid Ash Wednesday observances, continued through Lent and Easter and generally created the same level of inconvenience in the parish community as we experienced with our recent redecoration. Work progressed steadily, however, being largely completed just in time for the 50th Anniversary Celebration which occurred at 5pm, June 21st, Bishop Grutka presiding. As part of the celebration, a plaque was installed at the rear of the church in memorial of Fr. Kostik, 'Our Builder'.   The project was very successful. So much so that by the end of the drive, enough funds had been collected to not only complete the refurbishing and redecorating, but to trade out an old boiler for a newer piece of gas powered machinery.

St. John the Baptist, with its new blue interior color palette, is pictured above.

The repainting project replaced the red, beige, gold color palette which had been present for years to a fresh deep blue, light blue and white color scheme, bringing a new look and vibrancy to the interior of the parish that would last for more than 20 years.

New Leaders and Pastors, New Times

Reaching the age of his mandatory retirement at 75 in 1983, Bishop Grutka passed on his stewardship duties for the diocese and Bishop Norbert Gaughn became second bishop of the Gary Diocese in October.

Back at St. John's, facing deteriorating health conditions, Fr. Homco turned over Pastoral stewardship of St. John the Baptist to Fr. Andrew O'Reilly in July of 1988. Fr. Homco remained in residence at St. John, serving as an able associate pastor resource for Fr. O'Reilly.

Fr. O'Reilly maintained those responsibilities until June of 1991, when Fr. Kalicky was reassigned from his Provincial duties with the Precious Blood community to become the third home-grown pastor of St. John the Baptist.

Change occurred again in the Diocese in 1996 as Bishop Gaughn was succeeded by our current Bishop Dale Melczek on July 2nd. In the Chicago Archdiocese, loved and much respected Cardinal Joseph Bernardin passed after a long and public illness in November.

During the 1990's, a number of physical and philosophical evolutions made arenas before the domain of the clergy more welcome to the lay members of the parish. On the philosophical side, facing dwindling numbers of clergy, the Catholic Church moved to involve lay parishioners in more parish ministry. Specifically, lay Eucharistic ministers were established to enable dwindling numbers of clergy to maintain ministry of their parish families. St. John's happily embraced the new evolution, leading to a supportive community of Eucharistic Ministers in our Parish.

In addition to changes in ministry, there was a physical reconfiguration of the front of St. John the Baptist. Since it's construction in the '30's, the sanctuary of the church had been the domain of the clergy. A marble rail spanned the width of the sanctuary, providing a physical and philosophical boundry between the celebrant and the flock.   But as prepartion for St. John the Baptist's Centennial celebration, in late 1996 working into 1997, the long standing rail was removed from the sanctuary and reconfigured to create a new altar and Baptistry in the Sanctuary of the church.   Fr. Kalicky is pictured blessing baskets at the old communion rail in a Holy Saturday ceremony.

Design of the altar and Baptistry was done by Mrs. Regina Kuhn, with Mr. George Piwowarczyk of the Natural Stone Company artistically turning the plans into creative reality. Much gratitude was expressed to the First Catholic Ladies Slovak Association's donation of $15,000 which helped to fund the project.   Marble from the original Baptistry in the rear of the church formed the actual altar, while the lighter colored stone at the bottom and underside of the altar, along with the Baptistry walls were created from the long-standing communion rail. The bronze gates mounted on the original rail were removed and imbedded in the new altar. Not only did the reconfiguration open up the sanctuary in a more welcoming way, it also removed the psychological barrier the rail established between the sanctuary and the congregation.   The new altar is seen here in the redecorated church.

The original Baptismal font from the back Baptistry was relocated to the front of the church, specifically in front of the portrait of the Blessed Mother, the Madonna of the Precious Blood. Fr. Ed Homco, who at the time was retired, did not favor the placement of the font. A popular account for this relocation is that one day, while praying before the portrait, he experienced a deep sense of peace with the move of the font. Father felt sure that the peace of mind he experienced came from Mary's inspiration. What better place for children to receive the graces of the shed Blood of Jesus than in front of the portrait of Mary holding her son with the chalice while both look lovingly on the children. Pictured at right is the Baptistry in its new placement in front of Mary's portrait.

Celebrating 100 Years With bold announcement in the December 1996's first advent parish bulletin, the celebration of St. John's 100 years as a parish began. Parishioners were asked to pick up individually prepared and named information folders for each family and individual in the parish. Packets contained detailed information on coming events, a specially designed prayer card, a commemorative medallion and a parish seal. In the weeks that followed, each parish bulletin's cover included a 'Centennial Moment' recounting a small bit of St. John history.   The theme of the centennial year would be 'We Remember, We Celebrate, We Believe' and would see such events as a Lenten Parish Mission, a volunteer brunch, a special Winter Festival, an Anniversary and many special masses, a Centennial Family Day, a Centennial Concert, two Marian Theatre Guild productions (Our House and The Mikado) and a Parish Block Party.   A high point in the Centennial Year's festivities was Bishop Melczek's consecration rite for the new altar on March 17th. In his homily during the celebration, Bishop Melczek stated 'The artists took the old and transformed it into the new to the praise and glory of God'. The Centennial Family Day was also particularly large including a Family Mass, the traditional chicken dinner, dancing in the gym and a talent show in the auditorium.   In conjunction with the many Centennial Year celebrations, the old Baptistry in rear of church was re-named the Centennial Room. A beautiful quilt was hung on the back wall of the room containing pictorial reproductions of the people, structures and history of St. John the Baptist.   The cover for the Gala Celebration Program is at right.

The New Century Brings Many Passings

Amid the energy and excitement ushering in the 21st Century, many passings have had their effect on St. John the Baptist. After many faithful years of stewardship, Fr. Ed passed on December 23rd of 2000. In his memory, the small strecth of Lincoln Avenue between the school and the church was renamed by the Hammond City Council as honorary Father Homco Way. On a happier note, 2000 also welcomed the 50th anniversary of the new school.

In 2002, St. John saw the departure of another faithful steward, as our third pastor, Fr. Lefko passed in July at the Precious Blood Mother House in Carthegena, Ohio. Also in the theme of passings, the effects of dwindling clergy and resources contributed to hard decisions in the Diocese which led to the closing of Cluster Parish St. Peter & Paul in June, 2003.

Also passing was the vibrant blue color of the church interior, needed and welcomed in 1981, but showing its age by the turn of the century. That being the case, a new, comprehensive church redecoration effort was conducted again starting in 2003 and completed in 2004.   In stark constrast to many of the projects undertaken in St. John's history, full effort for redecoration of the inside of the church, from painting, to refinishing of woodwork and pews, to new kneelers and many more aspects of the facility cost more than $600,000. With historic symmetry, the project was similarly placed by Fr. Kalicky under patronage of the Little Flower as Fr. Kostik had done for initial church construction during the depression to equally wonderful results.   At right, St. John's after 03/04's redecoration.

The Grand Arch Mural

One aspect of the church redecoration that received a bit of extra attention was the Grand Arch Mural which graces the span above the sanctuary entrance. It received a thorough cleaning as part of the redecoration. The mural was blessed and dedicated on April 27th, 1947 on the occassion of the 50th anniversary of the parish. It is the result of much study and work of Chicago artist Ludwig Scheuerle.

The mural itself traces the roots of the Slovak people in the Catholic faith; first in Europe and then to America and to the parishioners of St. John the Baptist. At the center and focus of the mural is Jesus the Lamb of God. The Lamb is shown as described in the Book of Apocalypse with seven seals, blood flowing from its side, surrounded with bright rays of heavenly light. The Lamb is placed in the center of the Tree of Life, the tree's golden branches wind themselves around and in between the various scenes uniting the entire mural with their life giving embrace. Beneath the Tree is the the Fount of Grace, a spring representing the seven Sacraments whose flowing waters provide life-giving nourishment.

To the right of the Tree is St. John the Baptist, patron saint of our parish. To the left is St. Andrew, traditionally known as the apostle of the East and the Patron of the Slovak peoples. To St. Andrew's right and below him are two brothers preaching. These are the two apostles of the Slovak people in the ninth century, St. Cyril (in black) and St. Methodius (in gold). Following downward from St. Methodius is St. Gaspar del Bufalo, apostle of the Precious Blood and founder of the missionaries of the Precious Blood. Last on the left side of the Mural Arch is Slovak Prince Pribina and the Slovak people accepting the faith preached by St. Cyril. In the distance are the famous Tatra Mountains.

To the right of St. John the Baptist, on the right half of the mural is Father Jaques Marquette, the sainted Jesuit missionary and discoverer whose travels brought him to our region of America on his historic mission to the Indians. In the background is Lake Michigan which the French named Lake Illinois.   Below Fr. Marquette is Father Francis Brunner, a member of the missionaries of the Precious Blood who brought many missionaries to the United States in 1844. In this portrait, Fr. Brunner is preaching to residents of the Ohio farmlands.

Just below Fr. Brunner is Father Furdek, organizer of many Slovak Societies and Fraternal Orders in the United States presenting a charter of foundations to one of the parish's families.

Finally, on the bottom right portion of the Grand Arch Mural, is Father Benedict Rajcany, the first pastor of St. John Parish, with the first St. John Church pictured in the background. His is looking into the future anticipating the growing success of the parish. To the rear of the portrait can be seen the growing industrial complex previously called Standard Oil, now British Petroleum. Surrounding Fr. Benedict are parishioners of various ages representing the many who built and continue to make up the family of St. John the Baptist Parish.

St. John the Baptist in 2006 Current events have already seen their share of important events. On a sad note, April 2005 brought the passing of beloved Pope John Paul II. The massive media coverage of today provided quite a contrast to the coverage present at his selection as Pope in 1979. Pope John Paul II was succeeded by Pope Benedict XVI.   We have also experienced another very noteworthy changing of the guard. After 32 years as the first lay principal of St. John the Baptist School, Mr. Tom Puplava retired as principal after 2004-2005 school year. In his honor, the School Library was rededicated as the Thomas Puplava Memorial Library. In yet another instance of historical symmetry, Mr. Puplava's important role as Principal of St. John the Baptist Catholic School will be filled by a new Tom; Mr. Tom Feltz.   Today, St. John the Baptist Catholic Parish is a vibrant, multi-cultural community of approximately 1,400 families consisting of around 4,200 parishioners. Our parishioners reside not only in the Whiting/Robertsdale area, but in Hammond, East Chicago, Chicago and many other communities as well. Our school serves more than 500 students from pre-school age up to eighth grade.   Whether serving parishioners in their first or even fifth or sixth generation, St. John the Baptist Catholic Parish is still fulfilling the mission and vision of Father Benedict and its founding Slavic community under the name of patron St. John the Baptist: 'a voice crying out in the wilderness proclaiming Prepare the Way of the Lord!'

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