St. Michael Catholic Church sits on South Wheaton Avenue in Wheaton, Illinois, just south of the railroad tracks that first brought Irish and German Catholic settlers into the area in the mid-1800s. The parish belongs to the Diocese of Joliet and serves as both a neighborhood parish and a regional school community, with a motto that captures its single-campus identity: ONE FAITH / ONE FAMILY / ONE CAMPUS.
Two Fires and a Parish That Rebuilt Twice
The Catholic story in Wheaton goes back further than St. Michael itself. Irish settlers arrived in the 1840s and were soon followed by German Catholic farming families, who for a time walked or rode nine miles to Mass in Naperville. In 1851, residents of the vanished village of Gretna, just north of present-day Wheaton, accepted a land donation from Paul Warner and built St. Stephen Mission in 1852. That mission would seed the parish that exists today.
In 1882, Father William De LaPorte was appointed the first resident pastor, and St. Michael was dedicated on May 29 of that year. School Sisters of St. Francis taught classes in the basement from the start. The parish lost its first church to fire on February 15, 1892 - a heating stove ignited the wood-frame building - but Trinity Episcopal Church offered its sanctuary for Sunday Masses while the new church was built. It was dedicated again on July 24, 1892, at a cost of $20,000.
Father De LaPorte shepherded St. Michael for nearly four decades. Father Francis Epstein, the second pastor, expanded the school to four hundred students, remodeled the rectory, built a new convent, and gave the parish its gothic school building in 1923. When Father James Lynch became the third pastor in 1949, the newly created Diocese of Joliet took St. Michael under Bishop Martin McNamara's care. A new church was dedicated on May 15, 1960, only to be destroyed before dawn on March 18, 2002, when arson gutted the building. No one was injured, and the parish processional cross - the only object to survive intact - was carried into the new church four years later.
Pastor Father Don McLaughlin's words after the second fire have become part of the parish's identity: "We didn't lose the Church; we only lost the building where the church gathers." St. Paul Lutheran Church offered its sanctuary for daily Masses while St. Michael School's gymnasium hosted Sunday liturgies. A capital campaign called "Uniting in Faith, Building Our Future" ultimately raised about $6.2 million in pledges, and the rebuilt church was dedicated on March 18, 2006 - exactly four years after the fire - by Bishop Joseph Imesch. The new building seats more than a thousand worshipers and meets accessibility codes that the 1960 church could not.
Mass, Reconciliation, and a Perpetual Adoration Chapel
St. Michael's Sunday schedule begins early: 7:15 a.m., 9 a.m., and 11 a.m., with a 4:30 p.m. Mass added on the first Sunday of each month. Weekday Masses are celebrated Monday through Friday at 6:30 a.m. and 8 a.m., and Saturday Masses are offered at 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. All are livestreamed on the parish's YouTube channel.
The Sacrament of Reconciliation is heard on Tuesdays from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. and on Saturdays from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. A pamphlet called "Examination of Conscience for Adults and Teens" is available near each confessional.
A perpetual Adoration Chapel, renovated from a side prayer chapel in 2016, is open around the clock. The tabernacle was moved to the center of the sanctuary, directly behind the altar, as part of that project. Parishioners can call the parish office to request a key fob for access.
A Parish School with a Century of Footing
The parish school has been part of St. Michael since 1882, when classrooms met in the church basement. Father Epstein built the gothic school building in 1923; a third church and school expansion followed in 1960. Sisters of Notre Dame from Toledo, Ohio took over teaching duties in 1973 after the School Sisters of St. Francis served for nearly a century. Kindergarten was added in 1975, a preschool program for three- and four-year-olds launched in 1997, and the lower level of the church now houses the Lanvin Center, which includes a library and specialized classrooms. Adam Ferguson serves as principal, with Lisa Los as assistant principal and dean of students.
Religious Education for Children and Youth
Religious Education runs two parallel tracks, both scheduled around Mass times and the District 200 school calendar. The Family Faith option for preschool through 8th grade brings students and at least one parent to eight in-person sessions plus twelve at-home lessons, with families attending one of the weekend Masses together. The Traditional Classroom option offers fourteen in-person sessions plus six at-home lessons, with weekly Mass attendance on the family's own.
Sacramental preparation for First Reconciliation and First Communion is a two-year program, typically begun in first grade and completed in second grade; First Communion is generally celebrated in early May. Confirmation preparation is a three-year program, with dates set by the bishop's calendar. Youth Ministry for grades 9 through 12 is led by Judith Zapf, and a Sunday Sunshine program serves preschool and kindergarten children.
Adult Formation and OCIA
The Order of Christian Initiation for Adults (OCIA) walks catechumens, baptized Christians from other traditions, and uncatechized Catholics through the rites of initiation. Director of Faith Formation Colleen Brodhead oversees the process and can be reached at cbrodhead@stmichaelcommunity.org or (630) 462-5043.
Adult formation resources are organized around prayer and spirituality, the sacraments, papal encyclicals, scripture, Mary, the Mass, what Catholics believe, and the saints. Many of these resources are drawn from Formed, the Catholic portal the parish subscribes to; parishioners can create a free account using parish code R7TQVR. Adult offerings include a Walking with Purpose women's Bible study, a bi-monthly women's book club, Brothers in Christ men's group, Communio marriage and family ministry, and the diocesan Be Formed 90-day discipleship experience.
Music Ministry
Dr. Kevin Ballard, Director of Sacred Music, leads a music program that includes the St. Michael Parish Choir, the Handbell Choir, the Children's Choir for grades 3-6, a Cantor Ministry, and instrumentalists. The Parish Choir rehearses Thursday evenings from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. and sings for the 11 a.m. Sunday Mass from September through May, plus Christmas, the Triduum, Easter, and major parish celebrations; its repertoire spans chant and Renaissance to twenty-first-century works. The Handbell Choir rehearses Thursdays from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. and plays periodically for the Saturday 5 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m. Masses. The Children's Choir rehearses Thursdays from 4:30 to 5:10 p.m. and sings roughly once a month at the 9 a.m. Mass, Christmas Eve, and Easter Sunday.
Sacraments at St. Michael
All seven Catholic sacraments are celebrated at the parish. Baptism is offered on Sundays after the last Mass, with required parent preparation and at least one practicing Catholic godparent who has received Baptism, Eucharist, and Confirmation and is at least sixteen years old. First Communion is celebrated in early May after two years of preparation. Confirmation is conferred on the bishop's schedule after three years of preparation. Marriage preparation requires at least six months of diocesan paperwork, and the parish welcomes couples whose parents are registered members or who were baptized, received First Communion, or were confirmed at St. Michael. Anointing of the Sick is available to the ill and homebound, and funeral Masses are arranged through the parish office. Those discerning Holy Orders are invited to speak with one of the priests or to contact the Diocese of Joliet Vocations Director.
Pastoral Care for the Homebound and Grieving
The Pastoral Care Commission sends ministers to bring the Eucharist to those who cannot attend Mass, accompanies families before and after funeral services, offers one-on-one spiritual direction, creates handmade baptismal bibs and prayer shawls, and provides a grief support ministry for those mourning a loss. Bereavement ministry works in tandem with funeral planning to ensure families feel the parish's presence throughout the process.
Parish Life and Fellowship
The Parish Life Commission oversees community-building groups: the Knights of Columbus, the Holy Name Society, the Lenten Parish Fish Fry, a Burmese Ministry that serves the spiritual and cultural needs of Burmese Catholics, a Rosary Group, a Young Adult Social Group, and the Garden Angels who tend the parish grounds. The Women's Faith Group, open to all women of the parish and school, hosts a Bible study, a book club, a Lenten brunch, Advent by Candlelight, play dates for caregivers and young children, and the Tree of Angels gift drive each November.
Outreach Beyond the Parish
St. Michael's Outreach Commission coordinates with several local and global ministries. The parish partners with the Interfaith Food Pantry and the Milton Township Food Pantry, supports the People's Resource Center in Wheaton, and staffs packing sessions for Feed My Starving Children. The St. Vincent de Paul conference serves neighbors in need, the Christmas Giving Tree collects holiday gifts for local families and children, and the Respect Life ministry promotes the dignity of every human person through advocacy, education, and outreach.
Getting Involved and Staying Connected
The parish uses Flocknote for email and text updates, and a dedicated parish app is available through Subsplash. Online giving is handled through WeShare, and electronic tuition payments for the school and Religious Education program run through FACTS Management. The parish office at 310 S. Wheaton Avenue is open Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Friday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. The parish phone line is (630) 665-2250.
Fr. Sunny Castillo, the parish's ninth pastor, returned to St. Michael in 2024 after serving there as parochial vicar from 2007 to 2010. He is joined by Parochial Vicar Rev. Jacob Kolawole and Deacons Dan Aderholdt, Dan Simmet, and Mike Doerries. Together with a staff that includes the Director of Faith Formation, Director of Sacred Music, and school leadership, they shepherd a parish rooted in more than a century of Catholic presence in Wheaton and still marked by the cross that walked out of the fire.