HOBART – Once described as “the mother church of all the parishes in Gary,” the St. Bridget faith community has been celebrating its 150th anniversary for a full year, culminating in a Holy Mass, reunion and anniversary dinner on Sept. 30.
“The Lord has blessed us abundantly at St. Bridget,” said Diocese of Gary Bishop Robert J. McClory, who concelebrated the Mass with pastor Father Benjamin Ross and pastor emeritus Father Dominic Bertino. Bishop McClory noted that Father Andrew Grutka, just four years later ordained as the first bishop of the Gary diocese, called St. Bridget “the mother church” in 1953 since it was from the Hobart parish that Holy Angels church, destined to become the diocese’s cathedral, was founded.
“Congratulations to the thoughtful, loving and compassionate leadership of your parish,” added the bishop, who met earlier in the day with leadership and ministry groups as part of his parish visit and praised their “servant hearts.”
Father Ross, St. Bridget pastor for six years, said he is most proud of the hospitality shown by his congregation. Which he termed “encouraging and inspiring” as the parish embarks upon its next 150 years. “I’m ready,” he proclaimed, noting that he embraces the missionary discipleship and evangelization direction that Bishop McClory is mapping for the Diocese of Gary.
Anniversary Committee chair Mary Ann Shaw praised the generosity of her fellow parishioners for 54 years: “Whenever there has been a special charity that needs a little extra, we always make the mark or exceed it.”
St. Bridget was formed in 1873 by Father Michael O’Reilly, who had been serving the fledgling mainly German immigrant community as pastor of St. Paul in Valparaiso. He bought three lots for $1,100 and one, facing Main Street and the home of an old picture gallery, was converted into a church. The first resident pastor was Father Francis Thomas Jansen, also caring for the Turkey Creek (Ss. Peter and Paul) community until 1906, when he was sent to organize Gary parish.
Father William Hoff arrived in 1908, and built a new two-story brick church and school in 1911 for $15,000. It was dedicated on May 30, 1912 by Bishop Herman Alerding. The school, using the first floor, didn’t open until 1927, however, while a teaching community of religious sisters was sought.
When Father Hoff took a medical leave in 1921, Father Joseph Lynn, a native of Ireland, became the next pastor at St. Bridget, serving three years before taking a medical leave. Father John B. Steger served for eight months in 1925, leaving for St. John.
Father Paul J. Roederer was assigned to St. Bridget by Bishop John Francis Noll in late 1925, serving 21 years, longer than all his predecessors put together. He secured the services of three Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration to open the school, but after a disagreement in 1940 he enlisted the help of the Mantellate Servants of Mary (Servite Sisters) to guide the school until dwindling numbers caused them to withdraw in 1992. Decreasing enrollment and increasing expenses finally led to the closing of the school in 2012.
By 1943 the growing congregation needed a fourth Sunday Mass and Father Daniel Peil was assigned as the first assistant pastor. Father Roederer’s declining health led him to request lighter duties and he was sent to a small, rural parish – St. John the Evangelist in St. John.
Father John Bernard Schaeffer, a Dyer native, came to St. Bridget in 1946 and soon began planning for a new church. The cornerstone was laid on Sept. 13, 1953, when then-Father Grutka spoke of “the mother church of all Gary parishes,” and the new church was dedicated by Fort Wayne Auxiliary Bishop Leo Pursely on June 27, 1954.
More classrooms opened in the old church/school as student numbers rose. Bids on a new school were taken in 1964, properties were bought and renovated to allow for a rectory and Sisters’ house, and the new school opened in 1966.
After 22 years, ill health forced Father Schaeffer to retire.
Father William Vogt, a Hammond native described as “gregarious,” arrived in 1968 and encouraged social activities to maintain a thriving parish of 1,200 families, including the Rathskellar, a monthly dinner and entertainment event, and the first parish festival in 1972.
Father Vogt was transferred in 1983 and served three parishes briefly before health reasons led him to work at a Missouri rehab facility for priests in 1978. Bishop Dale Melczek officiated at his funeral Mass in 2004.
Father Louis William Peil next served at St. Bridget for two years, followed by Father John Stebig, a former assistant, for five years that saw St. Bridget purchase the corner of Second and Main streets to construct a multipurpose building used as a school gym and parish center that was dedicated Sept. 13, 1987.
Father Strebig was transferred to a LaPorte parish after suffering a heart attack in early 1990, switching places with Father Dominic Bertino, who served as pastor for 27 years and dean of the Gary-Hobart Deanery for nine years before accepting senior priest status in 2017. Still residing in Hobart, he is St. Bridget’s pastor emeritus, the diocesan historian and chaplain of the Serra Club of Northwest Indiana.
“Worship should be the most important part of a parish, and the people were always serious about that,” said Father Bertino. “The 1970’s were an age of experimentation, but St. Bridget stayed traditional, but always did what the Catholic Church expected of us (removing the communion rail and creating a new altar).
“I was born in Gary, and it took me 41 years to get here, but it has been a marvelous opportunity to be with you for 33 years,” Father Bertino told his dinner audience. “What has always impressed me is the generosity and willingness to do what needed to be done.”
Caption: Sister Anita Holzmer, a 1965 graduate of the former St. Bridget School and one of 13 daughters of St. Bridget in Hobart to enter religious life, addresses the 150th anniversary dinner crowd on Sept. 30, teling them "it is so great to be part of a parish where people live their faith." She also saluted the Servite Sisters, "who taught me the joy of religious life" as her teachers. (Marlene A. Zloza photo)