St. Joseph Catholic Church celebrating 100 years in Round Lake

St. Joseph Catholic Church in Round Lake has roots to German farmers who lived in the area in the early 1900s, but it'll be a multicultural base leading the way as it prepares to start another century of service.

Cardinal Francis George will be the main celebrant for a Mass at 4 p.m. Saturday to mark St. Joseph's 100th anniversary. The parish opened on March 24, 1912.

St. Joseph's pastor, the Rev. Timothy O'Malley, said the parish has a richness and vibrancy because of how it has evolved.

“While it was a lot of customs coming down to us from the German farmers, it's also changed because times have changed throughout the course of the 20th century,” O'Malley said. “We have a very active Hispanic community. We have a few rich cultures that combine here. We try to preserve the best in all the cultures.”

About 65 percent of St. Joseph's 1,400 registered families are Spanish-speaking, O'Malley said. The Round Lake area's Filipino, Polish and black communities also are more active at the church, he said.

Given the numbers, parishioner Efrain Camacho of Round Lake said the Hispanic population “is going to be key to this parish,” at least in the near future.

Phyllis Healy of Round Lake, who volunteers on the parish life committee, said she has gotten to know people from various cultures she never would have met without St. Joseph's bringing them together.

“You're more comfortable in the surroundings as you get to know them and they get to know you,” Healy said.

St. Joseph's official parish history traces its beginning to a meeting in a community hall in Hainesville in 1909. Family names still familiar in Lake County — such as Amann, Rosing, Luby and Thelan — were behind the effort to bring a church to Round Lake.

In 1911, about 44 founding families contributed a collective $2,212 toward starting St. Joseph, according to a 100th-anniversary book. After the Lincoln Avenue property was donated by John Rosing, the cornerstone of the original wooden structure was laid by the Rev. F.J. Schildgen of Fremont Township on Sept. 10, 1911.

St. Joseph's first Mass was on March 24, 1912, after the church was blessed by the Rev. A.J. Thiele, then the Archdiocese of Chicago's vicar general. A priest then traveled from Chicago to Round Lake to celebrate Mass every Sunday and on holy days of obligation.

Parish growth continued with the opening of a new church and an elementary school in 1952. The parish's third church opened with Cardinal John Cody celebrating Mass in August 1980.

Looking to the future, O'Malley said, he wants growth in evangelism retreat opportunities for parishioners so they can build a closer relationship with Jesus Christ.

O'Malley said he's grateful for all the volunteers helping St. Joseph as it begins its next 100-year stretch. Among the volunteers is 62-year parishioner Bob Swieton, who is leading a fundraising campaign to refurbish the church interior.

“This parish is not about Father Tim O'Malley,” O'Malley said. “This parish is about St. Joseph parishioners. And I'm one of them.”