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Southside Chicago parish celebrates centennial
Chicago’s second oldest African American parish celebrated its 100th anniversary on June 13 and 14, 2009.
A pillar in the city’s economically disenfranchised Washington Park neighborhood, St. Anselm Parish commemorated its centennial with a Saturday evening banquet in the parish hall and Sunday Mass led by Cardinal Francis George, archbishop of Chicago and president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Fr. Abelardo Gabriel, the current pastor, continues the parish tradition of support to the community. The parish serves the community through a variety of efforts, which include a support group that provides meals and fellowship, a food pantry, a tax-assistance program, and after-school and summer school programs.
“The programs for youth and children are especially important,” said Fr. Mark Weber, who served as the parish’s pastor before being elected provincial superior in 2005. “Last year, Chicago surpassed New York and Los Angeles in the number of homicides per year. Sadly, some of those victims are children who are caught in gang crossfire on the city’s Southside.”
During the 2007-2008 school year, 26 Chicago Public School students under the age of 17 were murdered. As of March 2009—with three months left in the school year—already 28 students had died.
St. Anselm’s after-school and summer school programs give children a safe place to go while their parents are working. Members of the Society of the Divine Word have staffed St. Anselm since 1932. More than a dozen Divine Word Missionaries from across the United States journeyed to Chicago for the celebration.
In addition to Fr. Weber, other former pastors who attended Sunday’s ceremony included Frs. Elzear Gehlen, Melvin James and Derek Simons. Twins Chester and Charles Smith, both Divine Word Missionary priests who grew up in a neighboring parish, also attended.
They speak of fond childhood memories of the parish. As adults, they served St. Anselm as priests. Co-founders of the Bowman-Francis Team, the brothers now travel throughout North America, conducting retreats and leadership conferences for African American youths.
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