Who We Are
History of St. Gertrude Parish
History of St. Gertrude Parish
History of St. Gertrude Parish
History of St. Gertrude Parish
Our Parish History
In the early 20th century, St. Gertrude Parish was established to serve Catholics living in the North Edgewater neighborhood of Chicago.
Through the efforts of six determined families and Father Peter Shewbridge, the parish community grew in faith and in numbers.
In those days, Sunday mass was offered in Hayt School auditorium. With few sidewalks, the people felt the burden of carrying the altar and other necessities back and forth, week after week. In March of 1912, a temporary, unheated frame church was built. As legend has it, it was often so cold that Father Shewbridge had to place his hands around the cruets to thaw out the contents before he could pour the water and wine at the offertory.
By the end of 1912, a three-story combination church and school were built. The walls that separated the first-floor classrooms were rolled up on Sunday for Masses and rolled down during the week for school. These classrooms are still in use as the school cafeteria of the Primary School Campus of Northside Catholic Academy.
From the very beginning, the school was staffed by Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, also known as BVMs. Their dedicated service provided an excellent education for the children of the parish for many decades. The building that is now called the Ministry Center was built as a convent to provide housing for the Sisters.
Through the years, the parish continued to flourish and plans were made to build a new church. The limestone had already been cut and paid for when the stock market crashed in 1929.
Because pledges by parishioners were meant to pay for the interior work, Father Bernard Heeney wanted to halt construction. However, the people of St. Gertrude acted with a spirit of determination and saw in through.
Some parishioners were moved to offer their wedding rings and other jewelry to be melted down to fashion a chalice to be used at Mass. With such personal sacrifice, St. Gertrude Church became one of the few buildings in Chicago to be completed during the Great Depression.
Over the years, St. Gertrude continued to grow and serve the families of Edgewater. In the mid-1960’s, the reforms of the Second Vatican Council ushered in sweeping changes to the liturgy and invited the laity to a whole new level of involvement. Pastors Gerald Kealy and then Lawrence Lynch helped guide the parish into this new era, establishing the foundations for many forms of lay involvement.
By 1984, when Father Bill Kenneally became the pastor, the dramatic changes within Church and society brought new questions about how to be a parish. New neighbors brought a diversity of race, ethnicity and sexual orientation that enlivened the conversation. Innovative responses to our emerging identity, included the creation of Heart to Heart outreach to our seniors, the gym mass, the 9:30am Mass on Sheridan Road, Northside Catholic Academy, and the 2007 parish Synod.
In 2012, with Pastor Dominic Grassi, the parish celebrated 100 years of service in Edgewater and surrounding neighborhoods.
The spirit of determination lives on as current parishioners answered the call for funds necessary for the maintenance of our buildings by pledging over $1.5 million dollars. The funds collected afforded a new sound system, tuck-pointing for the bell tower, improved electrical systems, updated external handrails and new handrails to the altar area, the Church doors refined, and structural improvements to the Ministry Center.
In 2017, Fr. Rich Prendergast became the seventh pastor, followed by Fr. Mike Gabriel in January 2023. Fr. Sergio Romo became pastor in July of 2025.
As a parish, we give thanks for those upon whose shoulders we stand. Together, we face the challenges of a wounded, yet God-infused world with the same living faith which has been the hallmark of St. Gertrude Parish.
As a family of faith, we continue to look to find innovative ways of responding to the ongoing needs of our dynamic and evolving community. Together, we continue to strive to live the truth of our motto – All are Welcome.
Who was St. Gertrude?
St. Gertrude the Great
St. Gertrude the Great, or St. Gertrude of Helfta, was born on January 6, 1256, in Germany. She eventually chose to follow the Lord by pursuing a vocation as a Benedictine Nun. Her deep relationship with the Lord in prayer led to her being hailed as a mystic. She was also regarded as a great theologian.
Although little is known about Gertrude's childhood, it is widely accepted that at just four-years-old, she was enrolled in the Cistercian monastery school of Helfta in Saxony, under the governance of Abbess Gertrude of Hackerborn.
The Cistercian movement was an effort to bring the Benedictine religious community back to a stricter and more faithful adherence to the original "Rule" or way of life encouraged by St Benedict. Some sources speculate that Gertrude's parents offered their child as an oblate, a layperson especially dedicated to God or to God's service, while others believe she may have entered the monastery school as an orphan.
St. Mechtilde, the younger sister of the Abbess Gertrude, took care of young Gertrude. Gertrude and Mechtilde had a strong bond that only grew deeper with time, allowing Mechtilde to have a great influence on Gertrude.
Gertrude, known for being charming and able to win people over, entered the Benedictine Order at Helfta and became a nun. She devoted herself to her studies and received an education in many different subjects. Gertrude was both fluent in Latin and very familiar with scripture and works from the Fathers of the Church, including Augustine.
In 1281, 25-year-old Gertrude experienced her first series of visions that would continue until the day she passed away. Her visions altered her life and she saw this moment as her new birth. Her priorities turned away from secular teachings and focused more on studying Scripture and theology. Her life became full with this awakening and she was an enthusiastic student, writing for the spiritual benefit of others.
Gertrude once had a vision on the feast of John the Evangelist, described in Gertrude's writings. As she rested her head near Jesus' wound on his side, she could hear the beating of his heart. She asked St. John if he, too, felt the beating of Jesus' Divine Heart on the night of the Last Supper. He told her he was saving this revelation for a time when the world needed it to rekindle its love.
She went on to become one of the great mystics of the 13th century. Along with St. Mechtilde, she practiced what is known as "nuptial mysticism," seeing herself as the bride of Christ. She embraced charity for both rich and poor, she was a simple woman with a deep solidarity with those not yet ready for the beatific vision, who are still being purified in the state of repose known as purgatory.
Source - http://www.catholic.org
