About St. Mary Oratory

Historical Introduction

The Oratory

When in 1885 the property for building St. Mary in Rockford was purchased, it still seemed difficult to get suitable property in the city “especially when a the fact was known that it would be for purposes entirely Catholic” (Fr. Cornelius Kirkfleet). Nevertheless, Archbishop Feehan laid the cornerstone in July 1886, and the dedication ceremony was celebrated in 1887. A parochial school was opened in 1888, and in 1913 the present Priory of the Our Lady of the Sacred Heart was built as a rectory for St. Mary. A particularity of St. Mary, whose style follows the typical neo-Gothic ecclesiastical architecture of the late nineteenth century is a small chapel dedicated to Our Lady Lourdes and called St. Mary’s Grotto. Constructed by the Chick Family, it has a cave-like interior with an altar containing the Blessed Sacrament and, certainly, a statue of Our Lady of Lourdes. It could seem somewhat original but it is a widely frequented place of prayer and meditation.

High Altar

Unfortunately, on February 13, 1962, St. Mary suffered a near disastrous fire. The fire spread rapidly and destroyed the beautiful interior that with very beautiful stained-glass windows was restored to its original beauty shortly afterward. From 1933 until 1997, the Augustinian Fathers deserved St. Mary Church.

Given to the Care of the Institute

The Institute of Christ the King, though, received the pastoral care over St. Mary after having been already present in the Rockford Diocese for about two years. Father Brian A. T. Bovee, the present Prior and Rector, had said Mass for the Latin Mass Community at the Chapel of the Poor Claires before. When the congregation grew larger and larger, the Most Reverend Bishop of Rockford, Thomas G. Doran, confided St. Mary to the Institute giving it the title of a Shrine. Since then the Institute has been striving in Rockford, with the fatherly support of Bishop Doran and the zealous apostolic initiative of Father Bovee.

Main stained-glass window
of the Transfiguration

The stained-glass windows have been recently restored to their former beauty, two side altars have been completely renewed, many statues likewise have received a through restoration, and the Priory shows the sober but elegant style of the Institute of Christ the King.

Canonical Erection

Most recently, St. Mary has been canonically erected into a public Oratory, which means it has been given to the entire care of the Institute, whose Prior General appoints the rector of the Oratory which has received the privilege of all the ecclesiastical records. This provision, graciously taken by Bishop Doran, renders it possible to all the faithful who wish the traditional Latin Rite not only to participate in the celebration of the Holy Mass at St. Mary but, also, to receive all the necessary sacraments by the priests of the Institute in the Traditional Rite. The consolidation of the presence of the Institute in the Rockford Diocese is due to the confidence that Bishop Doran has developed over the years and will foster greatly the positive development of the Latin Mass community at St. Mary Oratory. For the future, we foresee a continuation of the present growth of the Latin Mass Community, and we are sure that many vocations will come to the Institute from the numerous families attending Mass at our church.