WELCOME TO ST. MARY OF GOSTYN PARISH

A History of Many Parts, But One Body

Founded in 1891, St. Mary of Gostyn is rich in Faith, Education, Service, and Community. Father Shaun Cieslik is the 27th pastor to lead our parish. Far from the humble beginning of 25 families, today 2,700 families make up St. Mary of Gostyn. Over 400 students are enrolled in Preschool through 8th Grade at St. Mary of Gostyn School and over 500 children attend religious education classes. In addition, over 30 ministries provide service to our parishioners as well as those outside our Church.  With a tradition rich in faith, education, service and community, our parish continues towards a bright future enriching faith life, educating on Catholicism, serving those in need, and enjoying our close community.

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Years of Faith, Education, Service & Community
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Families at St. Mary of Gostyn
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Ministries provided by St. Mary’s

ST. MARY OF GOSTYN

Our Mission

St. Mary of Gostyn Parish is a welcoming, faith-sharing Christian community rooted in scripture and Catholic tradition. We are called by God through the Holy Spirit to nurture and minister to the spiritual needs of all through prayer, liturgy, education and service.

Our Parish History

St. Mary of Gostyn Parish, the oldest Catholic church in Downers Grove, was founded by poor immigrants who came from Gostyn, Poland, shortly after the American Civil War. By the 1880’s, Polish-speaking priests from Chicago were regularly serving this rural settlement. Masses were said in homes or tents because there was no church.

Where does our name originate?

In the late 1400s, Our Lady appeared to a group of farmers on a hill outside the small town of Gostyn, Poland. Shortly after the apparition was seen, a two-dimensional icon of the Blessed Virgin and her divine child was painted from eyewitness descriptions. The painting was done in the Eastern tradition similar to that of “Our Lady of Perpetual Help”. By 1512, a small church was built on the hill to commemorate the apparition. The painting was placed over the altar. Soon, a parish community was formed by an order of priests founded by St. Philip Neri. The parish was called the “Church of the Mother of God of the Holy Hill of Gostyn,” more briefly, “Holy Mary of Gostyn” or “St. Mary of Gostyn”. Years later, the church was replaced by a large basilica (Swieta Gora) which became a shrine famous throughout Poland.

Soon after the American Civil War, poor farmers emigrated from the area around Gostyn to the eastern part of Downers Grove. They brought their devotion to

Our Lady with them and, in 1891, named their church after St. Mary of Gostyn.
On October 2, 1983, as a way of showing our love for Our Lady, a print of the original painting of the Blessed Virgin and her child was enshrined in our church in the narthex.

In 1891...

Immigrants from Gostyn Poland living “in the country” outside of Chicago petitioned the Archbishop of Chicago for a Polish National Church. This request was denied because it seemed the small number of families would be unable to build and support a church and parish. At that time there were no Catholic churches between LaGrange and Naperville. Eventually, land for a church, rectory and convent was donated by a parishioner.

In 1891...

The Chicago Archdiocese approved the establishment of a parish that would include non-Polish Catholics from the Downers Grove area. With the Archbishop’s blessing, volunteers constructed a wooden, tarpaper covered church on a plot of land donated by a group of parishioners. With a mere 13 pews seating 25 families, St. Mary of Gostyn set its roots. It was located on the site of our present rectory. The first rectory was built on Douglas Street in 1895.

In 1897...

Soon after the launch of the church, St. Mary of Gostyn School opened a one-room wooden schoolhouse in 1897. It was the first parochial school in Downers Grove and the only parochial school between LaGrange and Naperville. The arrival of two Franciscan Sisters of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in 1916 and, later, the Felician Sisters came helped cement a tradition of religious women teaching in our community.

In 1920...

A combination school and convent was built on the southeast corner of Douglas and Prairie.  After World War II, a brick church, seating 220 people, was built on the northeast corner of Douglas and Wilson Streets and dedicated in 1948.  One year later in 1949, St. Mary of Gostyn became part of the Joliet Diocese and the congregation totaled 400 parishioners making up 130 families.

In 1953...

By the 1950s, St. Mary of Gostyn was growing at a rapid pace. In 1953 St. Mary’s was made a territorial parish for surrounding growing populations to practice their faith.  In 1954 a three-story structure was built on the northeast corner of Prairie and Douglas to serve the budding school. Then, in 1957, a new convent (now the Parish Center) was built across the street to house the nuns who taught at the school. A convent  and the current rectory were built in 1954 and 1957 respectively. Catechism classes for public school children were introduced about this same time.

In 1962...

The church was moved from Wilson and Douglas to the southeast corner of Prairie and Douglas (our present day church location). Its construction encompassed much of 1963 and 1964, celebrating the first Mass on December 20, 1964. Due to the illness of then Bishop Martin McNamara, the church was not dedicated until March, 1966. This church structure served the needs of the parish for over 30 years until in 2002, the church underwent a significant renovation. Our renovated church was dedicated in 2002 and serves a new generation of parishioners while built upon the solid foundation of the parish through the years.

In 1978...

An addition in 1978 added classrooms and a gymnasium to the original three-story building. The facility was dedicated by Bishop Romeo Blanchette in August of 1978.

In 1995...

St. Mary of Gostyn introduced a kindergarten program and a pre-school program in 1999; thereby creating a complete Catholic education. For over a century, the continuous growth of our school has allowed children ages three to fourteen to experience an education enriched by their Catholic faith at St. Mary of Gostyn.

In 1995...

A kindergarten was built in what is now the lower level of the Learning Resource Center. A school computer lab was built in the top floor of that building.

In 2000...

The School Administration area was expanded to add extra school rooms, which were moved out of the Parish Center.

In 2002...

The Church was fully renovated to look like the current Church of today. The Rectory, Parish Center and the Church itself were joined by Apostles Hall, in this way making it possible for the priests and attendees to move between the three buildings without going outdoors. Air-conditioning was added, the beautiful “Rose window” was added, the Narthex extended the church entryway, and seating was improved to house 1,000 people.

In 2010...

Space was created in the Learning Resource Center lower level to accommodate an expanded preschool and kindergarten program for the school.

In 2020...

A new Activity Center/Gym is officially opened to the east side of the existing School Building allowing for the children to have an enlarged gymnasium and a multipurpose room to be used as a lunch room.

In 2021...

The School library is converted to a STEAM lab, incorporating spaces for library work, robotics and coding and a new “Makers Space” area. The School play lot doubles in size to allow for recess and other outdoor activities directly adjacent to the north side of the school. An all day preschool for 4 year olds is added to the Parish Center to provide for the expanded needs of our School families.