Parish History

"In the beginning was the Word; the Word was in God's presence, and the Word was God.
He was present to God in the beginning. Through Him all things came into being,
and apart from Him nothing came to be..." - John 1:1-3

1839-Present

The past and present history of St. John the Evangelist community is a reflection of the reading according to John the Evangelist, patron saint of our church, which we celebrate on December 27th.

According to the history books, John Hack, his wife, Johanna, and their 11 children, arrived here from Germany in September, 1837. John and his family were one of the first settlers to come to this area, then known as the Western Prairie or Prairie West.

Records show that in 1839 Reverend Francis Fischer from Chicago visited St. John twice a month and celebrated the Liturgy with Hack and other settlers, which consisted of ten families. Later that year the small community built a log cabin church. We are fortunate to have that orgiginal church building on our property today as our Perpetual Adoration Chapel. Bishop De St. Palis administered Confirmation in this log church in 1846, the first Confirmation in Lake County.

As the community grew, a new church of brick was built and dedicated on October 20, 1856. Father Force was the pastor and the families numbered about 120.

In the year 1923, the community began to build another church. This is our Day Chapel which was dedicated on September 27, 1925. Father Bodina was then the pastor and the families numbered about 115.

Today we celebrate the Liturgy in our new Church, dedicated on May 15, 2008. Our families number about 1335.