2. St John / Evangelist

The faith community that we know as St. John the Evangelist began in 1886 when, under the direction of the pastor of St. John the Baptist Church in Savanna, the people purchased the property on which the church presently stands. In 1887, they erected a white frame building on this site and named it "The Church of the Holy Face".

On October 21, 1925, Bishop Peter J. Muldoon, the first bishop of the Rockford Diocese, changed the status of The Church of the Holy Face from a mission to an independent parish, and named Father Thomas Walsh as its first pastor. In anticipation of his arrival, the congregation of forty-six families raised the money and built the present rectory that was ready for Father Walsh when he arrived in the spring of 1926. When the remodeled church was dedicated by Bishop Edward F. Hoban on November 4, 1928 it was renamed St. John the Evangelist. On the heels of the Depression came the Second World War when Hanover was growing because of employment at the Savanna Ordinance Depot. Employees there worked around the clock, so St. John the Evangelist offered three Sunday morning Masses to accommodate the shift changes. These were the years of public ice cream socials on the parish grounds and Holy Saturday bake sales. Franciscan nuns from St. John the Baptist taught "Catechism classes" for first to eighth graders on Saturday mornings during the school year and the pastor taught all four high school grades on Thursday evenings--"church night". A one-week summer school of morning classes were held the first week after school was out in the spring.

By 1960 though, the congregation had dwindled to about eighty families and St. John the Evangelist once again became a mission parish under the wing of St. Mary's in Elizabeth. In 1971 the interior of the church was remodeled with new altars and pews, new statues, and the "Risen Christ" placed behind the main altar. A stone vestibule was added to the front of the church with interior stair steps to the basement. On May 2, 1998, David Wilbricht was ordained to the permanent diaconate by Bishop Thomas Doran in the Cathedral of St. Peter in Rockford. On May 3, Deacon Dave served on the altar in St. John's and a parish reception followed in the church basement.

We are small in numbers (115 registered families); we are filled with strong faith and pride in our Catholic heritage; we are willing to sacrifice for the edification of God's house; we are expressive of joy and thanksgiving to God for our priest, our deacon, our many lay ministers, and for each other. May we continue to grow in love, faith and hope.