Starting to Build

On September 5, 1905, two lots were purchased for $34,800 (in 2005 dollars, $714,220). The lot on the west side of Orchard Street was to be the site of the combination school and church, to be built immediately. The lot at the corner of Orchard and Deming would eventually be the site of the permanent church building.

Architect William Brinkmann was commissioned to design the combination building with an assembly hall in the basement, a church seating about 450 on the first floor, and four classrooms, an office and a library on the second. Ground was broken on October 18, 1905. A cold drizzle fell on the procession of parishioners led by Father Rempe to bless the ground that would be the site of the new parish's home.

The first floor was ready for use on Sunday, December 24, 1905, and the parish celebrated its first Christmas in its own place of worship. A forest of Christmas trees hid the unpainted walls, and the pastor and parishioners could not have been more pleased and proud.

Early Parish Life

In January 1906, the church started its Sunday school program, and a few weeks later, the Young Ladies' Sodality and Young Men’s Sodality were formed. These sodalities were not only social clubs, they were also dependable fundraisers.

The Altar Society was formed September 17, 1905, not long after the first Mass at Alcott School. The women of the society made robes for the altar servers and maintained the parish's costly vestments and paraments imported from Europe.

Saint Clement School Opens Its Doors

On Tuesday, September 4, 1906, the Saint Clement parochial school opened its doors to 85 pupils who filled the four classrooms on the second floor of the combination church and school building. The four teachers were Sisters of St. Francis of Joliet. Tuition was 50 cents a month per child, and children of poor parents were admitted free.

Building the Church

Early in 1914, a group of prominent women of the parish organized the Saint Clement Guild to raise funds for the parish. In less than two years, they eliminated the church's debt. The Guild then turned to the building fund, raising money to build the permanent church.

In the meantime, Father Rempe visited the new cathedral in St. Louis and admired it greatly. He hired its architect, George D. Barnett, to design the new church for Saint Clement. Ground was broken on March 19, 1917, and construction proceeded smoothly.

A year later, on the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin, September 8, 1918, Archbishop Mundelein dedicated the new church.

Click here for much more on the church building and its art.