About Us

We are the body of christ at St.Nicholas Parish,Evanston, called to:

-Gather for Worshhip.
-Celebrate our ethnic Diversity.
-Cherish the traditions of our faith.
-Witness the gospel.
-Minister to others.
-Be a christian in the world.

History

In 1864 St. Mary was founded as the parish for all of south Evanston. The first Mass was celebrated on the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, August 15, 1865 outdoors, near to where Calvary Cemetery is today. German-speaking immigrants from Trier, Germany and from Luxembourg began to migrate north from their parish at Ridge and Devon, St. Henry Church (now Angel Guardian Croatian Catholic Church; but if you look closely, you'll see the statue of St. Henry still on the façade. This is not the same St. Henry Church as our current sharing parish on North Hoyne Street.)

In 1887 Nicholas Didier, Nicholas Morper and Adam Kasper began circulating a petition from house to house asking the archbishop of Chicago to establish a German-speaking parish in south Evanston. A meeting of future parishioners was held in May, and on July 20, Archbishop Feehan established St. Nicholas and named Father Otto Groenenbaum (died 1897) as first pastor.

The parishioners bought the current property at Ridge Avenue and Washington. On August 7, the first Mass was celebrated in a hall on Chicago Avenue. John Nicholas Petrie was the first to be baptized. In September, construction began on the first church building. In November, the first Mass was celebrated in the new and first church building.