The topic: The suspension of Ransom's St. Patrick Church

What happened?

Marie Mertes' church was suspended.

The 91-year old Ransom resident admits it was one of her saddest days. She has been attending St. Patrick in Ransom since visiting her brother in the 1950s and became a member in 1964.

For 45 years she made St. Patrick her home church on Sundays, yet on Sunday, June 29, 2008, she had to find a new place of worship.

"It broke my heart," said Mertes, who now travels to Sacred Heart in Kinsman on Sundays. "I can't tell you how happy it would make me and everybody if we opened the church. I still have hopes, but they are very dim."

The same can be said for Wilford Mertes, Don Ahearn, Mary Ross, Peg Phalen, Pam Travers and the rest of the 100 families throughout the Ransom area who attended St. Patrick, people who felt their church was wrongfully taken away.

Though the church is not officially closed for good, a suspension means no Masses, with the exception of special events such as funerals and weddings. A letter from Bishop Daniel Jenky notified parishioners of the suspension two weeks in advance. St. Patrick was suspended once before in October 2007 for approximately a month.

Whether it is fair or not, most of the blame was placed on one man — Monsignor John Prendergast.

Prendergast became the pastor of St. Patrick in June 2007. He was the pastor when it was suspended and currently is the pastor for Streator's St. Anthony, St. Stephen and Immaculate Conception churches. He also is at the center of Streator's plan to consolidate its Catholic churches.

Trouble started as soon as Prendergast was assigned to Ransom.

"He came in with an objective," Ahearn said. "He wanted us closed. He asked for our financial condition and he was immediately ready to close the church. He told us how he didn't understand how farm families only have one child and that child moves away, and that's why we're a dying parish. And that was our first meeting."

Prendergast denies any intentions of wanting to close St. Patrick and said the decision to suspend services is left strictly to the Catholic Diocese of Peoria.

Monsignor Thomas Badovsky, who was Prendergast's assistant and served the majority of Masses at St. Patrick, told the parish the Diocese had no plans to close the church. Since parishioners did not feel a suspension imminent, the church underwent a $36,311 renovation plan in May 2007, which included the painting of the church, only to have their fears realized a year later when it was suspended.

Prendergast said the Diocese decided to suspend St. Patrick because the parish did not want to come forward with new trustees in conjunction with a shortage of priests.

Trustees are appointed for five-year terms, but each term can be shortened if a trustee reaches age 70 or if a new pastor is assigned to the church. Prendergast asked the parish to replace Ahearn and Ross around April 2008.

"I wrote the parish a letter to please submit new trustees," Prendergast said. "No one came forward. It was a pastoral call on my part. Those reasons are mine."

Members of the church responded with a petition to keep the old trustees signed by what Prendergast and Ahearn both agree was an overwhelming majority. Still, Prendergast wanted new trustees, which was fully within his rights.

Badovsky urged the parish to comply with nominations.

That's when Ahearn submitted to Badovsky an index card with seven nominations for new trustees to give to Prendergast. Those names were Pam Travers, Judy Talty, Joyce Talty, Leanne Talty, Cindy Ruder, Peggy Francisco and Bernie Jenkins.

Badovsky confirms he gave the index card to Prendergast, but said it was too late.

"I told them to give me the names, please," said Badovsky, who is currently serving at St. Thomas Moore in Dalzell. "They gave it to me about one week before the church was suspended. I gave it to (Prendergast) but they already planned the last Mass. It was too late."

While controversy surrounded the appointment of new trustees, Paul Showalter, vicar general of the Peoria Diocese Monsignor, said the issue had nothing to do with the Diocese's decision to suspend St. Patrick.

Since Prendergast did not work out, there was a shortage of priests.

"The question we're faced with is personnel," Showalter said. "This past year, I had four priests retire, four international priests go back home, two priests moved to different dioceses. So when I made June appointments, I was down eight or nine priests. Then I hear, 'What about my little parish here?' I do care. If I had the priest personnel, I'd open it up tomorrow. I just don't have the priests and I don't think that is likely to change in this coming June."

In the aftermath of the suspension, what some parishioners had speculated in articles published in The Times and other local media started to come to fruition in their mind.

St. Patrick owns 80 acres of farmland in Brookfield Township, donated by Ada Dooley in 1976. Ahearn believes the land is worth about $500,000. The land provides the church assets from grain sales and a subsidy for two windmills on the property.

St. Patrick first combined with St. Stephen two years ago. The Ransom church previously was paired with St. Joseph Church in Marseilles. Ahearn was told St. Patrick joined with Streator because the responsibilities of St. Joseph pastor Monsignor Brian Rejsek would not allow him time to also serve Ransom. Rejsek serves as a vicar in the diocese for the Spanish-speaking population.

It was more than a coincidence to members St. Patrick combined with St. Stephen and two years later Streator announced its plans to consolidate. Those plans included St. Patrick despite a survey conducted by the church that showed only seven of 82 families would go to Streator. In conjunction, a 40-acre lot was purchased for $500,000 on the southwest corner of East Main Street and Airport Road in July 2008 with plans to build the new Streator church.

A parish looking for answers as to why it was suspended started to speculate.

"It might happen," Ahearn said. "They might say, 'OK, you're closed, we're selling the land,' then give it to Streator. It's suspicious."

Prendergast and Showalter both deny the Diocese had any intention of "land grabbing." Showalter said since St. Patrick is only suspended, its funds must remain intact under the administration of Rejsek and the Diocese cannot take those funds. He also noted if the church were to officially be closed, there is a formula for liquidation determined by the Presbyterial Council, which is a representative of priests. The council would conduct a traditionally closed-door meeting and distribute those funds as it sees fit, usually divvying them up locally.

"There's been so much garbage to come out of this," Showalter said. "We were going to take the land and sell the land? That's not worth commenting on. The diocese cannot just come in and seize funds like that."

Those rumors have been quelled recently with more speculation that if the land was sold, it would go to the Archdiocese of Chicago due to an agreement made when the land was purchased.

"It's all a shame," Wilford Mertes said sarcastically. Mertes, a former St. Patrick parishioner, now attends Sacred Heart Church in Kinsman. "They got together for that farmland and now they can't get it."

Why does it matter?

To keep camaraderie in the parish, members gather once a month for a pot luck. At most functions, they share general conversation and hardly ever talk about the controversial suspension. But the writing on the church marquee cannot be ignored, "St. Patrick's Catholic Church — CLOSED."

"Time heals all wounds, but this one will never totally heal," former trustee Ahearn said. "Truthfully, we knew we would close eventually. We were financially sound, but we saw the loss of our Saturday night Mass and our parish go from 200 families to 100. We're short in priests, and we eventually had to do something. It's just the way it was handled. It was insensitive."

Only 13 miles away from the whirlwind of controversy that surrounded the suspension of St. Patrick, members of Streator's three Catholic parishes fear the closing of each of their churches to consolidate into one church.

A Sept. 29, 2007, letter from Bishop Daniel Jenky was sent to all Streator Catholics outlining an intent to consolidate the parishes into one church with one school. More than 1,000 parishioners attended meetings proposing the consolidation. A Vision 21 Board was formed, including three members each from Immaculate Conception, St. Anthony and St. Stephen. It was formed as an advisory board to review the needs of each parish and to make recommendations for the future new campus, to be named St. Michael the Archangel.

Recently, St. Anthony announced the elimination of its 4:30 p.m. Saturday Mass, igniting a controversy. That was coupled with plans to move administrative offices from the St. Stephen rectory in January 2010 and the St. Anthony rectory in June 2010 to the St. Stephen convent.

Billboards in Streator soon carried messages like "Save Catholic Education" and "Do Not Close St. Anthony's Church" with pictures of the school and church and the number for the Peoria Diocese. Those who purchased the billboard space requested their names not be disclosed.

Yet in a Nov. 21 Times article addressing the issue, it was confirmed the vision to consolidate still exists.

"I fear that St. Anthony's and our other Catholic churches will be gone," said Sean Peters, a law student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who grew up attending St. Anthony. "The new campus cannot compare to the churches we have. When I come home on Route 18, I see the steeples of St. Anthony's going into town. I think to myself how horrible it will be when they're gone."

The man once again at the center of all this — Prendergast.

Authors with screen names to disguise their identity have filed threads on the Streator Online Web site's politics and religion message board blaming Prendergast for what happened in Ransom, nicknaming him "demojack" with speculation "Streator's next."

Prendergast admits, whether fair or not, he has been named the scapegoat for the suspension of St. Patrick.

"As a pastor, you take the responsibility," Prendergast said. "They project it on you anyway. In actuality, there isn't one single person or reason Ransom was suspended. A lot of things fell together at the same time. They wanted to go to Marseilles and the priest there wasn't able to do services for them. It was their choice to go to Marseilles and their choice to not nominate new trustees."

Showalter even admits the Peoria Diocese would take a do-over regarding St. Patrick and the lack of communication to its members.

"Could we have done a better job in Ransom? Yes," Showalter said. "Could we have had better involvement? Yes. I felt bad. It's a nice parish and I didn't want to close it. It all came down to personnel."

A lack of transparency and democracy in the Catholic Church are the greatest criticisms from its local parishioners. The Peoria Diocese decides when a church closes or consolidates, not its members. Whether the church actually intended to "land grab," its parishioners feel left out of the decision-making process because those decisions are made behind closed doors.

If the Peoria Diocese closes St. Patrick, the meeting to liquidate funds of the church would be closed-door between the Presbyterial Council of Priests.

That is why parishioners, who just had their church taken away, can only speculate what happens behind those closed doors.

"You have very little say in what goes on, it's the good ol' boys' decision," Ahearn said. "They say it and they expect everyone to follow along, 1950s style. They say 'follow us.' We followed along all right, right over the cliff."

What's next?

With that said, efforts are being made to make the consolidation plans for Streator run smoother. For instance, Prendergast set up question-and-answer boxes in the vestibule of each church. He said only questions signed with addresses will be answered, either in the Sunday bulletin or personally. He emphasized names and addresses will not be printed in the bulletin.

Prendergast also plans to keep parishioners informed during the consolidation, promising to update members concerning reports from Healy, Bender & Associates on the evaluation of all building structures.

Still, he feels it is unfair to compare what happened at St. Patrick to what's happening in Streator.

"People in Streator are informed about what's going on here," Prendergast said. "Ransom happened so rapidly that it was difficult for everybody. With the Streator consolidation plans, there is more time and we can inform parishioners as we go along."

To that, Ross, one of the former trustees at St. Patrick, offered advice to members of Streator's churches.

"Be very cautious in believing what you're told," she said.

Most St. Patrick parishioners flocked to Sacred Heart in Kinsman or St. Mary in Grand Ridge in the aftermath of the church's suspension. The church still stands tall above the Ransom skyline, perched atop its hill on South Wallace Street, ready to host Mass any time the Peoria Diocese wishes.

Yet the display sign in the front of the church still resounds as firmly as the day it was suspended, "St. Patrick's Catholic Church — CLOSED."

Whether Mertes and her fellow parishioners' wish will be granted is unknown. But according to Showalter, if he obtains the resources, he would reopen St. Patrick.

"Like I said, if we had the priest personnel, I'd open it up tomorrow," Showalter said. "They are on the list, but Spring Valley and Ladd are asking for priests too. None of this is done with the intention to hurt people. The challenge for us is how to best use the personnel."

Since Rejsek of St. Joseph in Marseilles is the church's new administrator, he is the parishioners' natural speculation to fill the church's vacancy, but he would not speculate himself.

"I don't even know if I could," said Rejsek, who has no assistants and also serves as the vicar for the Spanish-speaking population. "It's hypothetical. That decision rests with the bishop. I'll do my best with whatever they tell me to do."

Showalter sympathizes with the people of Ransom who lost their home church, noting his parents went to a rural church similar to St. Patrick.

"I love these country churches," Showalter said. "They are gems. We are trying to preserve them and keep it the best we can so they can be used."

With that said, he reminded those in Ransom that times are changing, something he feels relates to each Catholic in the Diocese, especially those in Streator.

"The buildings are great, they provide important memories, but we need to move beyond parochialism," Showalter said. "Can I sit in the pew where I grew up (in Rock Island)? Yes. Do I want to see that close or have Masses stopped there? No. Will it happen? Yes. It's tough to see, I know, but some of these parishes don't want to consolidate because of something that happened 30 years ago. They need to move on."

Prendergast feels he must prepare Streator for what lies ahead.

"Nobody really wants to be the ones that change," Prendergast said. "I understand that. They are projecting their fears and anxieties right now. I pray for them and I hope they pray for me. God's grace and holy spirit will work itself out, I hope they can see that."

Ahearn offered advice for those who wish to keep their church open.

"Make your efforts early," he said. "Be proactive, not reactive. (The parishes) should make an effort in Peoria and with the Vicar General (Showalter). Unfortunately, their efforts are probably too late."

Showalter is open to comments from parishioners, but wants them to be well-thought, organized and have a reasonable plan behind them.

While it is unclear how members of Streator's Catholic churches will react as consolidation plans continue, Mertes, who lost her church, sees the conflict among the diocese and its members, and can only speak from the bottom of her heart.

"Sheep stray when they don't have a shepherd," Mertes said. "I'm afraid of that from our flock."

Want to do more?

Questions and comments about St. Patrick can be directed to Rejsek at St. Joseph in Marseilles. He can be reached at 815-795-2240.

Questions or comments concerning the Streator consolidation can be directed to Prendergast. He said he would try his best to address them and suggested the question box to do that. He offered his number, 815-672-2474.

All comments concerning the Catholic churches in the region can be directed to the Peoria Diocese and Showalter at 815-671-1550.