The Cathedral Parish of St. Raymond Nonnatus 1917-1992
Written by Robert R. Morris

Part 10: A Time for Change for All Catholics
But Monsignor Hoover spent considerable time with his flock when he was not building cathedrals. He was approachable, respected, human.

Diane Elens Dow remembers the 1950's tradition of Msgr. Hoover coming to the school to hand report cards out to the children

"At report card time -- they were always given out by Msgr. Hoover -- we knew he was in the building when we could small his cigar."

As the 1950's turned into the 1960's, Bishop McNamara was devoting his time to the never-ending demands of a growing diocese that needed more priests, more churches, more schools and more services for the endless streams of faithful.

As the same time, Msgr. Hoover prepared his congregation for the tremendous changes that came about in the Catholic Church as a result of the Second Vatican Council called by Pope John XXIII.

The changes started slowly, but over time they became a cascade, enveloping the laity, men and women alike, in the operations of their parish -- the proud Catholic Parish of St. Raymond.

First, the Mass was said in English, then the priest turned around and faced the congregation, and then the Mass was streamlined and focused. Men and women were to serve on pastoral councils, advising the pastor in running the parish. These were all new concepts, and revolutionary ones after so many years of an abundance of priests and nuns.

John Minzing, a lay member of the parish, wrote in one of the Sunday bulletings in 1965:

"The parishoners of St. Raymond's, you and I, the laity, are going to run the parish! No, we're not going to hear confessions or say Mass...but we are going to decide what money should be spent and raised, what the aims and goals of the various organizations should be...The idea is a great one -- it it works, it will make for a living, breathing, active laity. The separation of clergy from laity will be eliminated."

During this time of sweeping change in the church, the bishops from all over the world were repeately summoned to Rome by the Pope, to continue their deliberations and recommendations. During one of his trips, Bishop McNamara fell ill, and found the pact of his work more than he could handle alone. Therefore, in 1965, Monsignor Romeo Blanchette, the "hometown boy" who served as vicar-general of the Diocese of Joliet, was ordained as an auxiliary bishop of the diocese to assist Bishop McNamara.

When Bishop McNamara died in May, 1966, Bishop Blanchette was named to succeed him as the second bishop of Joliet. On August 31, 1966, trhe feast day of St. Raymond Nonnatus, John Cardinal Cody came from Chicago to formally install Bishop Blanchette as the torch passed to the next generation of leaders.

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