Parish History
March 5, 1920 St. Isidore was canonically founded. The parish of St. Isidore started in the farming community of Cloverdale when a small group of parishioners petitioned Archbishop Mundelein of Chicago to build a new church. The Rev. John Wester, associate of St. John’s in Winfield, was the first pastor.
March 1921 The first masses were held on Easter Sunday. Forty-five families made up the congregation on that first Easter Sunday. School was in session in 1921 with two teachers and thirty-six students.
1925 Fr. Wester retired in and Fr. Ott, who also served as an assistant at St. John’s in Winfield, was appointed the second pastor of St. Isidore.
1926 Fr. Ott was able to move into the newly built rectory in after having lived in quarters above the Chapel sacristy. School was taught in the chapel by the School Sisters of St. Francis of Milwaukee. School was taught in the chapel by the School Sisters of St. Francis of Milwaukee.
1950’s The parish remained relatively unchanged until the exodus from the city to the suburbs began. Farmland disappeared to make room for subdivisions. It was at that time that Fr. Ott retired after thirty years of faithful service. Father John Klaes was appointed as the third pastor. To serve the growing populations new parishes were added: St. Matthew’s to the east, St. Luke’s to the south, and Resurrection to the west.
1964 St. Isidore school had shared school facilities with St. Luke’s until in when the doors were opened of the new four room school building. One hundred and twelve children and three teachers enjoyed the new classrooms. At this time there were one hundred and seventy-five families registered at St. Isidore Parish. DuPage county continued to experience extraordinary growth which was reflected in the growth of the parish.
1977 Father John Klaes retired and Father Anthony De Filippis was appointed the fourth pastor. Father De Filippis redecorated the chapel and added additional masses. Father De Filippis resigned after one year for health reasons and Father Arthur Maher was named the fifth pastor of St. Isidore.
1978 The parish had four hundred and fifty families registered. Two years later the parish congregation had more than tripled to sixteen hundred families. This influx of families sparked the need to build a new Parish Center Church.
March 29, 1981 The church was officially dedicated by Bishop Joseph Imesch. In of Fr. Henry Slade was appointed the sixth pastor of St. Isidore.
June 1982 In response to the increasing demands for improved facilities, Fr. Slade oversaw the expansion of the school building and the addition of administrative offices to the existing rectory. The parish family continued to grow.
1990 In the summer Fr. Joel Fortier was installed as the seventh pastor of St. Isidore. Fr. Joel is leading us into the next century by preparing the parish, of now more than five thousand seven hundred households. With the Parish Pastoral Council, Fr. Joel looking to the 21st century, saw the need for a Ministry Center to accommodate the expanding need for space for all our ministry groups and meetings, religious education classes, on-site retreats, and large scale events.
August 1996 The Ministry Center was completed.
December
1996 The renovation of the church took place adding a Eucharistic Chapel, with an enlarged narthex and meeting rooms . The facility was also made handicapped accessible.
We continue to grow and strive to be the kind of parish that is warm and welcoming despite our size. We seek to initiate people into the Body of Christ and give birth to Christ’s life and the gifts of the Holy Spirit in all!
