St. Emeric Parish History

Parish History
By Jim Wright

A Brief History of St. Emeric Church

The history of St. Emeric Parish dates to the fall of 1959.  At that time, Rev. Joseph F. Burke, pastor of St. Joseph Church in Homewood, was tasked with establishing a Catholic church in the fast-growing city of Country Club Hills, incorporated just the year before.  Once land was secured, Catholics of Country Club Hills set about quickly, with hammer and saw in hand, and built a small wood-frame church on 180^th Street.  The church was ready for the first Mass, which was said by Rev. Robert Loftus associate pastor of St. Joseph, on Christmas Eve 1959. 

Initially known as St. Joseph Mission, the church was elevated to parish status in 1960 and Rev. Stephen Ryan was appointed its first pastor in June 1960.  The parish was named after St. Emeric, a young Hungarian prince who died in 1031 because of the youth of the parish. In fact, at the time, Country Club Hills had the second highest birthrate in the state!

In October 1961, ground was broken for the current church and school building.  The school, under the direction of the Sisters of Mercy, opened on September 5, 1962, and the first Mass in the new church was said on November 18, 1962.  Albert Cardinal Meyer formally dedicated the facilities in ceremonies on March 24, 1963. 

Father Ryan served as pastor until his death in 1971 after which Rev. John Rochford was appointed pastor.  Father Rochford served as pastor for about twenty-years and was followed as pastor by Rev. Paul Seaman.  Both priests worked hard ministering to the needs of their changing community.  With a decrease in enrollment, the parish school closed in 2001. 

Father Seaman was succeeded by the Rev. Martin Marren in 2004, who in turn was succeeded as pastor by Rev. Edmond Aristil in 2018. 
 
St. Emeric, St. Joseph and St. Anne, Hazel Crest, 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. Emeric Parish
1960 - 1971 Rev. Stephen Ryan
1972 - 1991 Rev. John Rochford
1992 - 2004 Rev. Paul Seaman
2004 - 2018 Rev. Martin Marren
2018 - 2022 Rev. Edmond Aristil
 

Father Stephen D. Ryan – founding pastor of St. Emeric Parish (1960-1971), was born on October 12, 1910, in Chicago son of Harry and Alice Ryan.  Father attended Resurrection grade school on Jackson Boulevard in Chicago, Quigley Preparatory Seminary in Chicago, and St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein.  He was ordained by George Cardinal Mundelein on April 27, 1935. 

After ordination, his assignments included terms as assistant pastor at St. Luke Parish in River Forest (1935-1945) and Holy Cross Parish in Chicago (1956-1960).  From 1945-1956, he was chaplain at Mercy Hospital in Chicago. 

 Father was appointed pastor of St. Emeric in June 1960.  In addition to overseeing the construction of the church/school, convent and rectory buildings, Father was known for fostering ecumenical relations between the churches of Country Club Hills. 

After a long illness, Father Ryan died on October 31, 1971, at Mercy Hospital in Chicago at the age of 61.  Funeral services were held at St. Emeric on November 4, 1971, and Father Ryan is interred at Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Hillside, Illinois. 

Reverend John J. Rochford –     the second pastor of St. Emeric Parish was born on December 15, 1921 at 72^nd Street and Union Avenue, Chicago.  The son of  Michael and Marie (Noone) Rochford, he attended St. Joachim school in Chicago, Quigley Preparatory Seminary in Chicago, and St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein.  He was ordained May 3, 1947 by Samuel Cardinal Stritch and celebrated his first mass at St. Columbanus Church in Chicago.  After ordination, his assignments were as assistant pastor at St. Mark, Chicago (1947-1956),  St. Bartholomew, Chicago (1956-1965), and St. Raymond, Mount Prospect (1965-1966). He was then chaplain at Alexian Brothers Medical Center, Elk Grove Village (1966-1972).    
                       
He was appointed pastor at St. Emeric in February 1972, following the death of founding pastor Reverend Stephen Ryan.  He served as pastor until his retirement in 1991.  During that time, the parish grew from 500 to well over one thousand families.  During retirement, Father Rochford continued to minister at St. John Church in Glenwood for over twenty years. 

Father died on June 1, 2018 at the age of ninety-six.  Funeral services were held at St. Emeric, and he is buried at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Alsip.
 

Reverend Paul G. Seaman – the third pastor of St. Emeric Parish (1992-2004) was born on the south side of Chicago in 1959 and attended Assumption School at 60th and Marshfield, Street, St. Thomas More, Quigley South and Niles College before entering St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein. He was ordained on May 18, 1985. After ordination, he served as associate pastor at St. Lawrence O’Toole, Matteson (1985-92); pastor at St. Emeric, Country Club Hills (1992-2004); and administrator at St. Cajetan (2004-05). He then served as pastor at St. Pascal until 2017, St. Clement (2017-2020) and is now pastor at St. George in Tinley Park . He has served on the Presbyteral Council (2002-04) and as a spiritual director for those aspiring to be deacons.  

 

Revered Martin T. (Marty) Marren (2004-2018), was the fourth pastor of St. Emeric Parish.  Born July 23, 1958, he is the oldest of the 10 children of Luke and Eileen Marren.  Father is an alumni of St. Christopher School in Midlothian, Quigley South, Niles College, and St. Mary of the Lake Seminary. He holds a bachelor’s degree in fine art and English literature as well as a master’s in divinity. He was ordained in May 1984 by Cardinal Joseph Bernardin.  Following ordination, he served as associate pastor at St. Germaine-Oak Lawn (1984-1991), St. Barnabas-Beverly (1991-1997) and St. Gerald-Oak Lawn (1997-2004) before being appointed pastor of St. Emeric in July 2004.  He served as pastor at St. Emeric until 2018, when he was appointed pastor of Queen of Martyrs Parish-Evergreen Park.
 

Autobiographical information appeared on Reverend Edmond Aristil, the fifth pastor of St. Emeric Parish in the March 13, 2022 bulletin. 
 

March 13, 2022

My sisters and brothers in Christ,

For this first note, let me take this opportunity to introduce myself to you.
Ephesians 4:11-12 “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.”
My name is Fr. Edmond Aristil. I am looking forward with excitement to work with you as pastor of the united parish of St Anne, St Emeric and St Joseph. I was born in Haiti. I grew up in a practicing Catholic family.  Since my childhood, both my mother and father taught me the Catholic faith and showed me the importance of God and prayer in my life. After high school, I entered the seminary and studied philosophy. Then I went to Trinidad and Tobago as part of an Overseas Training Program (OTP).  It is an integral part of the formation program of the Holy Spirit fathers of which I was member. That intercultural encounter helped prepare me for the missionary work I got involved in as a newly ordained priest. I acquired a greater appreciation of my own culture and learned to work in diverse cultural setting more effectively. After the OTP, I returned to Haiti to complete my theological studies. Upon completion of my theological studies, I was ordained a deacon then a priest in July 2003. After ordination, I was appointed associate pastor at our Lady Queen of Peace Parish in Arlington, VA (2003-2005). From January 2006 to January 2007, I worked as a chaplain at Harlem Hospital in New York where I provided pastoral care to patients and their families, as well as spiritual and emotional support for the staff. 

Since 2007, I have been working in the Archdiocese of Chicago. From January 2007 to June 2009, I worked as associate pastor at Saint May Magdalene and Saint Ambrose Parishes. From July 1, 2009 to June 2011, I served as associate pastor at Saint Tarcissus Parish and from July 2011 to June 2012, I served as associate pastor at Saint William parish. From July 2012 to June 2018, I worked as associate pastor at Infant Jesus of Prague ( IJP) Parish, Flossmoor. From July 2018 to now, I serve as pastor of St Emeric parish, Country Club Hills, IL.

“At this moment in our Church and in the world, we may be grieving, troubled, or anxious. Or perhaps, by God’s grace, we may feel a sense of hope in a brighter future. Maybe we do not even know what to feel. But together we are gathered as one people and we form one Body in Christ. We are the Church. Together we pray. Together we hope. And together we remain, asking the Lord to send us anew the life-giving and transforming power of the Holy Spirit.” In the coming weeks our associate pastor of the united parish of St Anne, St Emeric and St Joseph Fr. Ralph Zwirn will introduce himself to us.

In Christ,

Fr. Edmond Aristil