Parishioners at S. James Parish in Arlington Heights look through items Sunday that were pulled from a time capsule from the 1950s that was found in the church during a renovation project. Parishioners were encouraged after Mass to leave notes about the church to be placed back in the time capsule and opened in 75 years.
Ryan Rayburn for the Daily Herald
Andrew Marcheschi, 7, and sister Natalie, 9, of Buffalo Grove write notes and drawings Sunday about St. James Parish in Arlington Heights. They’ll be placed in a time capsule that will be opened in 75 years.
Ryan Rayburn for the Daily Herald
A recently discovered time capsule from the 1950s offered parishioners attending Sunday Mass at St. James Parish in Arlington Heights a glimpse into the Catholic church’s past.
The contents, spread across a table in the church lobby, included pages of a history of the parish and a list of the workers who built the church. Photos of nuns who taught at the parish school and the pastor at the time, the Rev. George J. Stier, also graced the display.
“Today, as the laying of the cornerstone of a new church is witnessed by the parishioners of St. James, the blossoming into new fruit has been unfolded,” Stier wrote in the history, dated Sept. 24, 1950.
The current pastor, the Rev, Ed Pelrine, said the time capsule was discovered last week when the church’s cornerstone was removed during tuckpointing work.
“They are going to redo it (the cornerstone), because it’s kind of falling apart. And they found this time capsule behind it,” he said.
The artifacts brought back memories for 93-year-old Mount Prospect resident John Abbs, who attended St. James school in the late 1930s and early 1940s.
“(Stier) smoked cigars,” recalled Abbs, who belongs to one of four generations of a family that attends St. James. “And he was the boss. He ruled things.”
Abbs also remembered one of the nuns in pictures, Sister M. Aloys, as his fourth grade teacher.
“It’s pretty incredible that St. James has such a long history,” said Abbs’ granddaughter, Lauren Orf.
“It has stayed a pretty robust community,” she added, while referring to her grandfather as “our time capsule.”
“He remembers everything about St. James,” she said.
Worshippers at Sunday Mass were encouraged write letters, create drawings and contribute items for the time capsule, which will be returned to the cornerstone and opened in 75 years.
Among the items to be included are a church bulletin, a letter from the pastor, a St. James school uniform, a class list and a staff photo from the 2023-24 school year.
Lucy Dobek Behrns of Arlington Heights was among those putting new items in the time capsule. She wrote a letter and added a mask — a reminder that parishioners lived through the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Future generations hopefully don’t have to go through the three years, four years that we suffered,” she said.
A letter including names of the construction workers who built the St. James Parish church were one of the items found in a time capsule from the 1950s discovered during a renovation project. Parishioners at the Arlington Heights church were encouraged Sunday to leave notes about the church to be placed back in the time capsule and opened in 75 years.
Ryan Rayburn for the Daily Herald
This time capsule from the 1950s was found last week in the cornerstone of Saint James Parish church in Arlington Heights during a renovation project.
Ryan Rayburn for the Daily Herald
John Abbs, 93, of Mount Prospect examines artifacts unearthed from a time capsule from the 1950s at St. James Parish in Arlington Heights. Abbs attended the parish school in the 1930s and 1940s.
Steve Zalusky/szalusky@dailyherald.com
“I wrote that St. James is the cornerstone of our faith,” said Maggie Allard of Mount Prospect, right, with daughter Maisy, 4, and Bronson, 7, of a letter that will be included in a time capsule at Saint James Parish in Arlington Heights.
Ryan Rayburn for the Daily Herald