History
St. Jerome Croatian Catholic Church began in a significantly Croatian-American neighborhood. J. E. Quigley, Archbishop of Chicago, realizing the Croatian Catholic community's need for spiritual guidance and sustenance, requested the Holy See to send a Croatian priest to work among in Chicago. Father Leo Medić OFM, arrived in the U.S. in May 1912 was charged with the responsibility to form the new parish. He began by organizing about 5,000 immigrants from Dalmatia, Banovina, Istria, Slavonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The parish's original church and rectory were purchased from German Protestants located on 15th near Wentworth Ave. On December 5, 1912, the Croatian Parish was blessed and opened its doors for public worship.The beginnings of the church were not without some controversy as a dispute concerning whether to callthe Church Croatian or Dalmatian required mediation. The Archbishop intervened and proclaimed St. Jerome as a Croatian Church.
As of 1997, the parish had a total of 1,050 parishioners. There were 168 students in the 8-grade grammar school, and the Croatian school had 50 students with 5 teachers. Father Jozo Grbeš is the director of the Croatian school and Dusko Kraljević is the current president. The parish grammar school has two nuns who teach and they are members of the Adorers of the Precious Blood, and the principal is a lay person. Besides the various groups who are traditionally associated with St. Jerome parish, there are 8 parish groups: Holy name Society, St. Jerome's Auxiliary, The Altar and Rosary Group, Mary's Society, The dance and tamburica group "Kardinal Stepinac", Catholic War Veterans, and two church choirs, one led by Joseph Cepuran and the other by Mary Helen Ratković. The church bulletin is printed weekly in both Croatian and English. The first three pages contain parish information and the last page is various advertisements.
St. Jerome parish has published many keepsake books for the various anniversaries of the church and school, as well as books about the parish on an annual basis. It has been said that the most influential keepsake book was released in 1932 by pastor Blaž Jerković because it contained a wealth of information as well as wonderful photographs. The most important thing, though, is that the parish and its members continue with the great deeds for which they are known.
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