Parish History

1954 DEDICATION
Saint Margaret Mary Parish was founded in January 1954 at 2448 S. Washington. Groundbreaking ceremonies for the present church on South Pattie were held June 11th 1954. The cornerstone was blessed on October 16th, the Feast of Saint Margaret Mary. The First Mass was celebrated on Christmas Eve that same year. The Church, Community Room, kitchen, and eight classrooms were dedicated in April 1955 by Bishop Mark K. Carroll.

School enrollment the first year 1955 was 378.  An additional wing was constructed in 1957 adding four classrooms, a library, teachers' conference room, and additional restrooms.  Enrollment rose to a peak of 525 students.  In the mid 1960s the Community Room was expanded to accommodate more persons, add a storage room, and enlarge the kitchen.

1992: church nave, sanctuary and ceiling remodeled.  In the late 1990s ceramic tile replaced all carpet and plastic tile in church, vestibule, and sacristy.

TORNADO:  May 3, 1999 the Parish sustained severe roof damage.  Many homes in the neighborhood were damaged or destroyed, to include many homes of parishioners.  A parish wide effort cleaned up after the tornado.  People, young and old, cleaned debris and trash around the parish buildings and in the ball fields and playgrounds, some that had blown in from miles away because of the tornado.

The Hispanic community has always been present in the parish, but the numbers grew started growing quickly in the late 90s..  The bishop called on the pastor Fr. Dwight Birket, a native son of the parish, to start a Mass in Spanish in the late 1990s.

The Vietnamese and Southeast Asia community has been a stable presence in the parish for greater than 20 years.  In 2000, Fr. Scott Nguyen became the first Vietnamese pastor.

Pastors of St. Margaret Mary:

1954   Fr. Robert Blanpied
1963   Msgr vincent Hogan
1967   Fr. Edward Steinberger
1970   Fr. Ivan Eck
1981   Fr. James Hoagland
1984   Fr. Leo Kerschen
1987   Fr. Charles O'Connor
1993   Fr. Dwight Birket
2000   Fr. Scott Nguyen
2003   Fr. Richard Stuchlik
2010   Fr. Eric M. Weldon