St. Anne Parish History

Parish History
By Jim Wright

A Brief History of St. Anne Church
The origins of Saint Anne Church date back to 1911. At that time Reverend Armand C. Martin, an associate at St. Louis of France Church on 117th Street in Chicago, was charged with establishing a Catholic church in what is now East Hazel Crest. A small wood-frame church was built for this congregation that year and was initially located near the intersection of 172nd Street and Loomis Avenue. In January 1912, Father Martin also was also tasked with organizing St. Joseph church in Homewood.  Father Martin served both churches until 1914 when he was appointed the first resident pastor of St. John Church in Glenwood, which had been founded in 1884.
 
Following the departure of Father Martin, St. Joseph’s was raised to the status of a parish and Father John P. Doran was appointed its first pastor. St. Anne became attached as a mission of St. Joseph’s, a relationship that would last until 1949, when St. Anne Church itself was elevated to the status of a parish.
 
During Father Doran’s tenure, which lasted through 1920, the Illinois Central Railroad began construction of the Markham Yards, their huge classification and repair facilities just north of Homewood, which necessitated the move of St. Anne’s small wooden church building from the east side to the west side of the rail tracks. The building was moved to the northwest corner of 171st and Wood Streets in Hazel Crest where it remains to this day. After a new sanctuary was completed for St. Anne’s in 1957, the old building on Wood Street was sold to the Marian Council of the Knights of Columbus who used it as their meeting and social hall until they, in turn, sold it to a protestant denomination. 
 
In the late 1940s, with increasing numbers of Catholic families, residents of Hazel Crest petitioned Samuel Cardinal Stritch for their own parish.  The petition was granted, and Reverend Michael J. Sweeney was appointed the first pastor of St. Anne Parish in July 1949.  One of Father Sweeney’s first tasks was enlarging the small wood-frame church to accommodate the 186 families in the new parish and buying an old farmhouse on two acres of land several blocks north of the church on Dixie Highway to serve as the parish rectory and office. 
 
Within a few years, plans were made for construction of a new combination church/school building at 16801 Dixie Highway.  The building was completed by the Fall of 1957. School doors opened on September 4^th that year under the direction of four nuns from the Sisters of St. Francis of Dubuque, Iowa and two lay teachers.  The first Mass in the new church was offered on September 29^th.  The nuns lived in the school building until a convent was built for them in 1961.
 
The parish grew and by 1970 almost 1000 families were listed on the official parish register.  When the last nuns serving the parish left in 1988, the convent building was converted for use as the Early Learning Center (ELC), a day care center serving infants through kindergarten aged children, which is still in operation today.  With declining enrollment, the parish school closed in 2003.
 
St. Anne, St. Joseph and St Emeric, Country Club Hills, were merged effective July 1, 2022, to form a new yet unnamed parish as part of the Archdiocese of Chicago Renew My Church program.
 
Pastors of St. Anne Parish
1949-1970  Rev. Michael J. Sweeney
1970-1984  Rev. Edmund Schreiber
1984- 2005  Rev. Leonard Dubi
2005-2011  Rev. Kevin Birmingham
2011-2022  Rev. Ralph Zwirn
 

 
Reverend Michael J. Sweeney - was the first pastor of St. Anne Parish (1949-1970).  Father Sweeney was born in the Bridgeport neighborhood of Chicago on September 16, 1899.  He attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary in Chicago and St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein.  He was ordained on April 6, 1929 by George Cardinal Mundelein.  
 
Following ordination, he was assigned as assistant pastor at St. Gabriel Church-Chicago, St. Patrick Church-Joliet and St. Leo Church-Chicago (1945-1949) before being assigned to establish St. Anne Parish in Hazel Crest in 1949.  Father Sweeney was welcomed to Hazel Crest and the new parish in a reception of village leaders, local clergy and new parishioners of July 21, 1949.  He served the next twenty years building and serving the parish.  Father retired on January 3, 1970 and continued to live at the parish in his role as pastor emeritus.
 
Father Sweeney died on October 4, 1975, at the age of 76, at South Suburban Hospital.  Funeral services were held at St. Anne's on October 8, 1975, with the Most Reverend William E. McManus, auxiliary bishop of Chicago presiding.  Father is buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Chicago.  

Father Edmund Schreiber – the second pastor of St. Anne Parish was born on April 22, 1919, to Albert and Mathilda Smet.  He was adopted in December 1919 and raised by Joseph and Magdalin Schreiber after his mother died in childbirth.  Father grew up on the northside of Chicago and attended St. Henry School, Quigley Preparatory Seminary in Chicago, and St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein.  He was ordained on May 6, 1944, by Samuel Cardinal Stritch. 

His assignments as assistant pastor after ordination were at Sts. Peter & Paul Parish, South Chicago 1944-1946; St. Peter Parish, Skokie, 1946-1950; St. Bernadine Parish, Forest Park 1950-1966; Our Lady of the Wayside, Arlington Heights, 1966-1969; and All Saints-St. Anthony Parish, Chicago 1969-1970.  He was appointed pastor at St. Anne on January 3, 1970. 

Father celebrated his 40^th anniversary of ordination at St. Anne with a Mass and dinner on May 6, 1984.  Father was a Fourth degree Knight of Columbus and served as chaplain of the Marian Council of the Knights of Columbus while pastor at St. Anne. 

After retirement as pastor from St. Anne, father continued to minister at St. George Parish, Tinley Park; St. Gertrude Parish, Franklin Park; and Nazarethville in Des Plaines.  He died on July 7, 2003, at the age of 84, at Holy Family Hospital, Des Plaines, due to complications following knee and heart surgery.  Funeral services were held at St. Henry Church in Chicago, and he is buried in the parish cemetery. 

Reverend Leonard Dubi  - the third pastor of St. Anne Parish was born in Chicago in July 1942, son of Stephen and Henrietta (Rzegocki) Dubi.  He attended Joseph Warren Elementary School and Bowen High School before entering the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary. He was ordained in May 1968, by John Cardinal Cody.  After ordination, he was assigned as associate pastor at St. Andrew (1968-1969); St. Daniel the Prophet (1969-1974); Our Lady of the Angels (1974-1978); Our Lady of the Ridge, Chicago Ridge (1978-1981); and Queen of Apostles, Riverdale (1981-1984). He was pastor at St. Anne, Hazel Crest (1984-2005), and St. Victor, Calumet City (2006-2012). Active for years in community and social causes, he now is pastor emeritus of St. Victor.  He celebrated his 50^th anniversary of ordination in 2018 with Masses at St. Daniel the Prophet, St. Anne, Hazel Crest, and at St. Victor.
 

Most Reverend Kevin M. Birmingham was the fourth pastor of St. Anne Parish.  Father Birmingham was born on October 7, 1971, in Oak Lawn, Illinois, the seventh of ten children. He attended public school in the Chicago Ridge School District in Chicago Ridge. He then entered Quigley Preparatory Seminary South in Chicago.  

After graduating from Quigley in 1989, Birmingham enrolled in Loyola University, Chicago. He was originally planning to major in computer science but soon decided to study for the priesthood. In 1989, Birmingham transferred to Niles College Seminary, graduating in 1993 with a Bachelor of Philosophy degree. Birmingham then attended University of St. Mary of the Lake, obtaining a degree in 1997.

Birmingham was ordained on May 24, 1997 by Cardinal Francis George.  

After ordination, Father Birmingham was assigned as associate pastor at St. Benedict Parish, Blue Island/St. Peter Claver Mission, Robbins (1997—2001) and St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Orland Park (2001—2005).  In 2005, he was named pastor of St. Anne Parish in Hazel Crest, Illinois, serving there until 2011.  From 2005 to 2009, he also served on the Priests’ Placement Board for the archdiocese and he joined the Presbyteral Council in 2006.  In 2011, he was appointed pastor of Maternity Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Chicago (2011—2014). Father then served as administrative secretary to Cardinal Cupich from 2014 until 2020.   

Pope Francis appointed Father Birmingham as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Chicago on September 11, 2020.  His Episcopal ordination took place on November 13, 2020, at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago.
 

Autobiographical information appeared on Reverend Ralph Zwirn, the fifth pastor of St. Anne Parish in the March 27th bulletin.

March 27, 2022

My Dear and Precious Parish Family,
 
It is my honor and my privilege to introduce myself to all of you as your new associate pastor for our new parish. It will be my joy to work with Father Edmond as together we walk with all of you on our journey into the future and, even more importantly, on our pilgrim way to God’s Kingdom.
 
I was born in 1958 and raised in Saint Thomas More Parish on the southwest side of Chicago. I have one brother, Herman, who is 16 years older than I am. He is married to my beautiful sister-in-law Mary, and they live in Lilly Lake, Illinois. I am truly blessed to have them, their wonderful dogs, and their cat in my life. Since my back surgery, they have also been providing a retirement home for my dog Penny. Because of my ongoing recovery and limited mobility, I am living in a small, slab ranch in Worth with my precious cat Sadie. I am able to drive and I can walk with the aid of a walker, so I will be commuting to and from our parish for Masses and meetings. I appreciate your understanding of my limitations, and I am so very glad to be able to continue in my priestly ministry. As I love to say, “I’m not done yet!”
 
My father Herman passed away when I was 5 years old, so I was raised by my mother Adeline. I have inherited her sense of humor and her love for music. I am a “public”, a graduate of Charles Carroll Elementary and William J. Bogan High School. I entered the seminary after high school, and was given the opportunity to study as a Theodore J. Basselin scholar at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. I was ordained in 1985 and have served as associate pastor at Saint Gall Parish, as a teacher at Quigley Preparatory Seminary, as associate pastor at Saint Mary Star of the Sea Parish, as pastor at Saint Turibius Parish, and I have been pastor at Saint Anne Parish for these past 11 years. We will get to know each other in the days to come, but in closing, I would like to share with you my “personal mission statement”, something that I wrote up many years ago as a result of my reading Steven Covey’s “Seven Habits of Highly Successful People”. I hope this will give you some insight as to who I am and how I pray I can continue to live my life well...
 
God Is Love, and when we live in love we live in God, and God lives in us. And so, I shall love the Lord my God with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my mind, and with all my strength, and I shall show my love for God by the way I love and care for all of His people, the sheep of His flock! And so Father I bring you the very  gifts that you have given to me, and I ask you to make them Holy by the power of your Spirit that I may become what I have received in the Eucharist, the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. May all I say and do help to make His Kingdom come and help make His Will be done, here on earth as it is in heaven. Make each day of my life like a good roller coaster ride: some of it will be exciting, some of it will be scary, but when I get off at the end I should be totally exhilarated, looking forward to getting​ back on again another day for another ride. Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “Wow! What a Ride!” Amen!
 
With my love and prayers, and in awe and wonder of the power of God’s Love and His Divine Mercy which are always at work in our lives and in our world, your friend and brother,
 
Father Ralph