Diocese of Joliet
Catholic Cemeteries

CATHOLIC CEMETERIES
REGIONAL OFFICE LOCATIONS

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DIOCESAN CEMETERIES

The history of Catholic Cemeteries in the Joliet area closely parallels the history of the original Diocese of Chicago.  In 1838, six years before the creation of the Diocese of Chicago, Father Francis Plunket, assigned as pastor and missionary to the Joliet region, founded St. Patrick's parish and began, with his flock, the construction of the parish church.  In 1849, Bishop James Van De Velde, second Ordinary of Chicago, received of John Belz of Joliet, a deed to the land now comprising St. Patrick's Cemetery, to be used "as a Burial Ground for the Catholic population of Joliet in Will County and its vicinity." 

From its very beginning the St. Patrick's Cemetery has been a "Diocesan Cemetery."

This was not the case with other cemeteries that are now under the jurisdiction of the Diocese, as such.  Mt. Olivet Cemetery was formerly the parish cemetery for St. Mary's founded in 1868.  Though records indicate the purchase of the first parcel of land for Mt. Olivet Cemetery did not take place till 1887, the first burial there  seems to have taken place in 1863.  Subsequent purchases of land were made as needed.  In 1934, the Archdiocese of Chicago was asked to undertake the administration of Mt. Olivet Cemetery, by which fact it then became officially a Diocesan Cemetery.

Shortly after the creation of the Diocese of Joliet in 1948, St. Patrick's and Mt. Olivet cemeteries became the nucleus for a new system of diocesan cemeteries under the direction of the Rev. A. Sinsky.  Several new cemeteries are being planned ~ land for two such has been purchased: one on Rt. 66A, seven miles North of Joliet, intended to serve Joliet and the Lockport Township area, the other on Finley Rd. in DuPage County to serve the suburban area radiating from Lombard.

A unique feature of the Diocesan Cemetery plan is the "Central Labor Pool" by which a basic crew operating from Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Joliet is able to serve not only the official diocesan cemeteries, but also provide basic services in the following parish cemeteries:

S.S. Cyril & Methodius, St. Patrick's, St. Mary Nativity, SS. Peter & Paul, Naperville, St. Mary's, Minooka, and Mt. Olivet in Braidwood.

"Remember, O Lord, Thy servants and handmaids, who have gone before us

with the sign of faith, and sleep the sleep of peace."

Originally a parish cemetery under the jurisdiction of St. Mary Carmelite Church, Ottawa St., Joliet.  The first burial was that of Margaret D'Arcy, born in County Wexford, Ireland.  Died April 5, 1863

Block 5 was the first section to be plotted.  Enginerred by Charles L. Wallace.

The expansion of burial ground commenced in 1936.  The office building was erected in 1938 as were the gate pillars.  Sewer and drainage were installed between 1936 and 1937 at the cost of $20,000.00.  Pumping station, engineered by A. Robinson, cost $10,000.00

The land development continued until 1941 and was halted during the war years.  In 1949, the cemetery became the reponsibility of the Diocese of Joliet.  Improvements and development of sections resumed.

Entrance to the cemetery was originally located at Picwick and Cass Streets; the office in the down town area.

As the need of land arose, homes situated on Cass Street were purchased by the cemetery.

St. Patrick Cemetery, Joliet

First lot sale, December 26, 1867. 
Purchaser: Charles Brooks (Lot 17-N1/2, Block 13)

St. John the Baptist Cemetery, Joliet

Developed in 1852.  First burial took place in 1859.

St. Mary Nativity Cemetery, Crest Hill

St. Mary Nativity Cemetery was created in 1906 by a group of men of Croatian descent.  It was originally name St. Mary Croatian Cemetery after it's parent church.

Since the Croatian language was prevalent at that time, Rev. George Violic was imported from Croatia to serve the people of his nationality.

After his arrival, the committee, formed by the founders, transferred the records to the parish office where they had been maintained until 1986 at which time the operation of the cemetery was undertaken by the Diocese of Joliet.  Father Violic expired in 1939.

At the northwest corner of the cemetery located on Caton Farm Road, a small parcel was developed into single graves to accommodate the early settlers.

As the parish grew, more sections were developed comprising ten acres of which six are open for burials.  Each lot consisted of eight graves at $15.00.  In later years, the price of a lot increased to $25.00.

Since there was more than ample space between graves, in 1947, the lots were converted to twelve graves without added cost to the lot holders by Rev. A. Sinsky, successor of Father Violic.

When the people of Serbian extraction settled in Joliet, they were in need of a cemetery.  Unable to finance such a project, a small parcel of the cemetery was granted to them to satisfy their burial needs.  In order to differentiate the Serbian section from the rest of the cemetery sections, bushes were planted around the area.  It was required at that time by the Catholic Church to separate the Catholic sections from the Orthodox which was unconsecrated.

Resurrection Cemetery, Romeoville

Developed - 1956

Dedicated - September 14, 1958

First Interment - October 28, 1957

Mausoleum I developed - 1972 to 1973, Dedicated - November 1974

First entombment - September 5, 1974

Mausoleum II erected - 1988, 468 single crypts and 168 companion crypts

Office Building Construction - Ground breaking Ceremony - June 17, 2010

Office Occupancy - April 11, 2011

Office Dedication - May 30, 2011 Service performed by Auxillary Bishop Joseph M. Siegel

Assumption Cemetery, Wheaton

Possession of Cornell Farm for cemetery - March 1, 1962

Beginning of development - July 6, 1962

First interment - December 13, 1962

Chapel Built - 1970-1971, remodeled- 1982, currently the office for cemetery personnel

Garage Built - August, 1982

Mausoleum - Pre-construction sales program commenced in 1978; built in 1980

Ground Breaking, November 26, 1979, Cornerstone laid - May 26, 1980

Dedication - November 22, 1980

Lawn Crypts available - December 15, 1982

Mausoleum - Glass Niche Alcove installed summer of 2010
Cremation Gardens installed summer of 2010

St. Stephen Cemetery, Carol Stream

Saint Stephen Cemetery is the burial ground that was affiliated with Saint Stephen Catholic Mission, a parish of the Roman Catholic Church. The cemetery is located adjacent to the Great Western Trail in Carol Stream, just north of St. Charles Road and west of Schmale Road. Many of the parishioners served by the church lived in Gretna, a farm community near the church. The church and the community no longer exist.

Founded in 1852 by the Archdiocese of Chicago, the Saint Stephen Mission was an active place of worship for about 37 years, or until about 1889. The cause of the church's closing was the loss of the access road to the property when the Great Western Railway built its roadbed in 1887. Easy access to the property still is a problem today. Paul Warner donated the land (about two acres) for the chruch and cemetery. The first board of trustees consisted of George Klein, Mathias Krieg, Frederick Mueller, and Sebastian Rickert. The cemetery remained in use until 1910.

Headstone inscriptions reflect the German heritage of the parishioners. Many are in German and contain names long associated with the area such as Muehlfelt and Mittman, for example. Other family names associated with Saint Stephen and Gretna are Barnes, Dieter, Hahn, Kammes, Klock, Krammer, Kuhn, Lies, Nagel, Nedermeyer, Pauling, and Stark.

The first Catholics in the locality were of Irish nationality, whol sold out to the Germans in about 1850 and left for Lemont and The Sag, according to the Diamond Jubilee book from the Archdiocese of Chicago. The first German Catholics to settle here were, in about 1846, Sebastian Rickert and family, Mike Warner and family, the Damm family, the Drendel family, Jacob Miller, and Frederick Miller.

Because of the German Revolution in 1848, there was a strong influx into the United States of Germans during the years of 1846 through 1851. Some of the early families left this area in DuPage County for Mendota. These families were mostly from the Baden, Bavaria and Alsatia areas of Germany, the Catholic publication said.

Other German families who settled in the area, and the years are:

1847 - Nicholas Dieter, John Adam Hoffman, whose son Frank, was born in 1838.
1848 - Balthazar Stark, Adam Stark, John Stark, John Hummel, Frank Miller and Mathias Hahn.
1850-51 - John Lies, Mathias Kreig, George Klein, Paul Warner, John Kuhn and Mike Thoman.
2000 - Newly formed Milton Township Cemeteries Association begins clean-up of "abandoned" Saint Stephen Cemetery and Prairie, as well as two other "pioneer" cemeteries, Jewell Grove on Champion Forest Court south of Jewell Road in north Wheaton, and Pleasant Hill on Geneva Road west of Gary Avenue.

The original church bell was
recently discovered and obtained

Joliet Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church owns Saint Stephen Cemetery and Prairie, but the diocese has charged the Milton Township Cemeteries Authority with the restoration, preservation, and day-to-day maintenance of the sites.
Funds for the Authority's work come from the Diocese and from other contributors. Authority trustees are appointed for a six-year term by the Milton Township trustees.

St. Stephen Cemetery and Prairie

The Saint Stephen Catholic Mission was established in 1852. Within a few years one of the first Catholic churches in DuPage County was built on the land just east of the present cemetery grounds. When the Chicago and Greate Western Railway built its roadbed-what is now the Great Western Trail-just south of the property, the chruch's right-of-way and proper access were lost. Parishioners eventually attended St. Michael's in Wheaton and other nearby churches. By 1889 the church was forced to close. The structure was dismantled and its lumber used to build a school for St. Michael's. Burials continued in the consecrated cemetery groun until about 1911.

By the early 1990's, an industrial park was completed to the north and west of the property, and the grounds became more isolated. Vandals repeatedly overturned and destroyed many tombstones despite efforts to protect the area. Finally, a number of concerned citizens took decisive and more effective action. Supported by the local government of Milton Township and with cooperation from the Diocese of Joliet, the burial grounds were secured with a fence, a flag pole and lighting were installed, and signs were posted. Repair and restoration of the cemetery grounds continues.

The Prairie. The one-acre parcel immediately to the west of the fenced cemetery is land that had been planned for future burials. Thus, it has never benn grazed or tilled, and has retained much of the integrity and character it possessed before the arrival of White people to the area, including a diversity of native prairie plants. While small, it is a true prairie remnant, and as such, of great value in preserving the genetic integrity of our native plant species. This is especially critical in Illinois, which has the nickname "the prairie state", but which retains less than one half of one per cent (.005 or 1 acre out of every 200) of its original prairie landscape.

Summer brings the greatest amount of bloom and beauty to the prairie, but the diversity and number of native species insures color and interest throughtout the growing season. Spider Wort, Shooting Star, and Nodding Wild Onion grace the first warm days in April and May. Culver's Root, Prairie Dock, Rattlesnake Master, and Wild Bergamot dominate midsummer. Goldenroad and Aster brighten the late summer and autumn. American Elderberry, Wild Senna, and a host of native sunflowers can also be found among the more than fifty native species present. Rare native plants periodically make their appearance in the highest quality sections of the prairie.

The protection of the prairie's integrity from the advance of invasive plant species is a continuing and at times difficult task. Cooperative efforts are currently underway among the industrial park property owners, the DuPage County Trails Coodinator, and the volunteers who have been involved here for years. The goal: protect, preserve, restore, and enhance the cemetery and its native prairie, and the entire nearby area. The beneficiaries are all who use the trail, and indeed all who value our cultural and natural heritage, and the quality of our land and our lives.

Further information, and access to the cemetery grounds can be obtained by contacting Milton Township at 630.668.1616 or Friends of Pioneer Cemeteries at 630.668.8736

Volunteers are welcome. - RR, Milton Township Cemeteries Authority: 2010

History of Gretna
Gone but not forgotten
A veteran of the War of 1812, Anning S. Ransom, came to farm this area around 1840. He was followed in 1844 by Daniel Kelley from Vermont, who purchased 1,400 acres and settled at "Tall Trees" with his wife to raise Spanish Merino sheep. The Kelleys and their eight sons and three daughters all became involved in Wheaton's political and business life.
Daniel Kelley donated land for the Chicago & Great Western Railway, and the area around the railroad stop became known as Gretna after 1887.
A change had come to Gretna in the late 1840s when a number of German farm families, fleeing the political oppression and famine in their homelands, arrived in north Milton and Bloomingdale Townships. Frequently they took ownership of farmlands, which earlier had been acquired by settlers who later continued their westward search for open space.
The Germans who settled in the Gretna area were primarily Catholics from southern Germany. At the time, there was no Catholic church in the county other than Sts. Peter & Paul in Naperville. Once a month, one of the priests from that church would gather his religious articles for the journey across the prairies to Gretna.
By 1852 the bishop of Chicago had authorized construction of a wooden Catholic church and school with a churchyard cemetery. Saint Stephen Catholic Church was dedicated in 1853 by Bishop James Oliver VandeVelde.
It continued to served the vast German Catholic parish of central DuPage County from Roosevelt Road north to the county line near Schaumburg. In 1867 St. John the Baptist Catholic Church was opened in Winfield to serve that growing area. The bishop ordered Saint Stephen closed, except for special services, with families transferred to St. John's for worship.
When St. Michael Catholic Church and School opened in Wheaton in 1872, the parishioners from Saint Stephen were transferred to that church, along with their records. The cemetery at Saint Stephen continued to be used until 1911.
Saint Stephen served the area for 20 years and became the mission church for six other DuPage County parishes.
Agriculture dominated Gretna's economy until the 1950s.

All Saints Cemetery, Bourbonnais

Developed in 1964.

Dedication of administration building - August 25, 1995

Columbarium installed summer 2010

Devotional Votive Stand installed Dec. 2010

Mt. Calvary Cemetery, Kankakee

Developed in 1806

Mausoleum Developed - February 24, 1977

Dedicated - June 17, 1978

Columbarium installed summer 2010

St. Rose Cemetery, Kankakee