The city of Chicago, with the its huge industrial and transportation enterprises, attracted immigrants from many parts of Europe.
“In 1900, nearly 80 percent of Chicago’s population was either foreign-born or the children of foreign-born immigrants.”
https://www.britannica.com/place/Chicago/People
It is lovely to see how many ethnic communities maintained the familiar bonds of language and worship in the New World.
In 1931, the Slovenian population of Joliet celebrated the 40th anniversary of the “Cerkev Sv Jozefa” – the Church of St. Joseph.
https://www.stjosephjoliet.org/history-of-our-parish
Joliet is a city in northeast Illinois, about 35 miles southwest of Chicago.
Joliet shared the same ethnic diversity of its larger neighbor, Chicago.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joliet,_Illinois
In 1931, the Catholic churches of Joliet were still within the Diocese of Chicago.
This anniversary celebration seems to have been a very significant event as pins, mementos, and other memorabilia from the event are available from on-line auctions.
To commemorate and to share the anniversary event, postcards were produced by the Hermitage Art Company of Chicago.
On the face, the structures that supported the Catholic parish are pictured – the Church, the Rectory, the School, the Parish Hall, and the Convent.
It is remarkable, in the 21st century, to see how the work of many Catholic parishes was supported by religious sisters in a convent.
The names are rendered in the Slovene language and in English.
A picture of the parish Priest, Fr. John Plevnik, also appears.
Joliet is now the center of a separate diocese, and the diocese is increasingly ethnically-diverse.
The Catholic community appears to be surviving although some older parishes, such as St. Joseph’s have been proposed for combination.
From the diocesan website, one can see that more than a dozen young men from the diocese are studying for the priesthood.
This souvenir postcard was not mailed; it appears that some collector saved the memento.
