Parish History

Our parish and community was founded in the twenties of the past century. It all began when His Eminence, Cardinal George Mundelein, appointed Rev. Harold S. Trainor, Ph. D., to organize St. Priscilla parish on March 29, 1926. Father Trainor lead the first Holy Mass for our community on May 2, 1926 in a classroom of the partially completed Norman Bridge public school at North New England avenue and West Byron street. Moreover, with the help of the Sisters of Mercy of Park Ridge, who had organized a Sunday school, Father Trainor prepared children for the reception of their First, and the First in our parish, Holy Communion on July 3, 1927. The church’s complex includes the church, the rectory, the school, and the convent buildings. The property itself was purchased at 7001 Addison street, and a temporary church was completed on July 4, 1926, when Mass was celebrated for the congregation. The school’s building had one floor, and it contained eight classrooms, two of which were occupied by four Sisters of the Order of St. Francis who had arrived from Rochester. Whereas, on March 11, 1929 a bungalow was moved onto parish property ready for use as a rectory. On September 30, 1939 the second floor of the school building has been completed, and the building served as school and church, and the bungalow served as a rectory since then.