Early pastors of St. Patrick Parish in St. Charles began regular services in Sycamore, usually celebrating Mass in the courthouse. In 1862, the Sycamore congregation was given mission status and placed in the care of St. Mary Parish, located just south in DeKalb.
Father John B. Murray, who had become DeKalb’s first resident pastor in 1861, supervised the construction of Sycamore’s first Roman Catholic church in 1862. The church was intended to last 40 years, but the mission parish arrangement was only to extend to 1885.
In that year of 1885, Father Patrick A. Egan (1885-1887) was appointed to organize the parish and become its first resident pastor. During the first year of his two-year stay, Father Egan also built a rectory on the parish property on Waterman Street.
The only building program carried on during the service of Father Michael J. Foley (1889-1892) was when the Mt. Carmel Cemetery was expanded and improved.
Major construction projects were undertaken during the terms of Father William J. Meehan (1899-1903) and Father Sylvester J. O’Hara (1909-1922). Father Meehan had a new church built in 1902, at a cost of $22,000 and Father O’Hara made improvements to the church building, as well as supervising the construction of a mission church, St. Michael, at Clare, Illinois.
The Sycamore connection with Clare, located about seven miles west of Sycamore, began during 1897, when Father J. F. Feeley (1896-1899) started catechism classes in the town. The church erected by Father O’Hara was dedicated by Bishop Peter J. Muldoon in June of 1913. The mission church of St. Michael at Clare was closed in the early 1930’s.
Father Desire D. Miller (1922-1927) became the pastor of St. Mary Parish in 1922. During his five years of service, a school was constructed next to the church. The school was designed by Mr. Wybe Van der Meer, a well-known architect who designed many churches and schools in the Rockford Diocese and the Chicago Archdiocese.
The purchase of a house by the next pastor, Father Peter S. Masterson (1927-1945), brought about several changes in the parish. The new house, located next to the church was converted into a rectory. The school sisters moved into the former rectory, and the old convent was sold. A complete redecoration of St. Mary Church was almost finished when Father Masterson died on Dec. 5, 1945.
The long pastorate of Father Masterson was followed by one of almost equal length by Father Clement W. Caine (1945-1962). By the Diocese’s Golden Jubilee Year, 1958, St. Mary Parish had nearly doubled in size and had paid off its debt.
Plans were well underway for an addition to the school and another remodeling of the church. More property was purchased for a playground site, an apartment house was purchased as a convent, and two acres were added to the cemetery.
Following Father Caine’s retirement late in 1962, Father Michael J. Shanahan (1962-1969) was appointed ST. Mary’s pastor. Father Shanahan, greatly aided by a quarter of a million dollar donation from Miss Nellie Murphy, expanded the redecoration plans of Father Caine and the result was one of the diocese’s most beautiful church interiors.
Father Shanahan also extended the parish property to include a lot next to the rectory and a house next to that for use as a convent. The apartment building, originally intended as a convent, was sold to the city.
In 1991-1992, the church building was renovated during the pastorate of Father Frank J. Timar, MSC. New property was also purchased during this time for expansion needs of the future. On July 21, 2002, the dedication ceremony culminated many years of planning for a new parish center. Father Timar welcomed Bishop Thomas G. Doran who blessed the new St. Mary’s Parish.
