Ss. Simon & Jude's History

The Catholic Congregation of Gillespie did not have a church in their community. Not until 26 years after Gillespie became a village did the Catholics become organized as a congregation. The first Roman

Catholics who lived in Gillespie attended church in either Litchfield or Bunker Hill. As the number of families increased in Gillespie, a neighboring priest would travel to Gillespie once a month to offer Mass in a house. Most often Mass was offered in the home of Patrick McGow. In 1879, it was decided by the Bishop of the Diocese of Alton that a mission church should be built in Gillespie. A small frame church was constructed on the current church location under the Apostle Saints Simon and Jude.

The first Mass to be held in the newly constructed Ss. Simon and Jude Church was on January 1, 1880 with 29 families. As a mission church, they did not have a resident priest. Area priests offered masses twice a month. The church was officially dedicated in November 1883 in memory of the Apostles Saints Simon and Jude. By the end of 1887, the parish had grown to 43 families. The church had to be increased when more Catholic families moved to the area with the growth of the mining industry. The congregation was made up of many nationalities: Irish, German, French, Italian, Lithuanian, Slovak Croatian, Hungarian, Polish, Scottish, and English.

In 1905, the church received a resident priest. Father John Crosson organized the first altar Society for married ladies of the parish and Sodality of the Blessed Virgin Mary for unmarried ladies. Later, these

two groups were combined. Father Crosson had a dream to construct a brick church and a residence for priests. Property around the church was purchased for a planned school and convent.

In 1910, property for the new Holy Cross Cemetery was purchased. The new school was started in 1913 and was completed in 1914. In 1925, the new convent was completed.

In April 1915, a mission church as started in Benld. Construction on a brick church in Gillespie was begun in 1929 on the site of the old church. During construction, services were held in the IOOF Hall. The new church would seat 500 persons. On March 16, 1930, the first mass in the new church was offered.

Over the years, the parish has undergone many changed. The once thriving school is no longer in operation. The convent is gone, and the church has undergone changes. Several of the parish’s young

men and women have entered religious life.

In 2004, Ss. Simon and Jude Parish welcomed the members of Holy Cross Parish in Wilsonville.