Historical Photo

St. Mary's parish in Polo has a very interesting history and is one of the oldest parishes in the area. The parish was originally established in 1854 because of an influx of Irish Catholic railroad workers as railroad construction reached Polo. In late 1856 the parish began using its first church which was not only the first church in Polo but also the first Catholic church in Ogle County.

As the parish grew, the original church was expanded but could not keep up with the increasing number of families. Work on the present church was started in the spring of 1899 and the the church was completed and dedicated on January 7, 1900. This photo from the Polo Historical Society shows the new church as it was completed in January of 1900. The cost of the church and lot was approximately $12,000, which was paid for by the time of the dedication. Note the original steeple and the unpaved streets.

At this point the parish was still a mission of Freeport and did not have its own priest. St. Mary's parish ceased to be a mission in 1906 and a rectory was completed in 1909 to the south (left) of the church.

A detailed and illustrated 12 page history of the parish is available in PDF format which can be downloaded from our history page.

Church Improvements

Since his arrival at the Church of St. Mary in late 2000, Father John has been very active in improving and making needed repairs to the church. 

In late 2000, a portable storage shed was erected adjacent to the garage to store the lawn mower, snow blower and other equipment. Work was also started on major improvements inside the church itself. By October, work had started in the back of the church which included repairing the vestibule wall, the rear wall of the church and the choir loft. The area was also painted and baseboards were treated. Doors in the back of the church were removed and refinished.

By Christmas, work had moved into the church interior with improving and replacing some of the walls and ceiling and painting. The Stations of the Cross were removed from the walls, cleaned, and later returned. A new public address system was installed. In February, work also started on cleaning and improving the stained glass windows. One parish family has been doing much of the work which involves virtual rebuilding of the windows including the names of the original donors.

This photo was taken in early May of 2001 and shows scaffolding on the outside of the church as workmen work on tuckpointing as well as the painting and sealing around the renovated stained glass windows. 

Father John at the Chinese Auction

Father John Hanrahan takes his time looking over the items available at the "Chinese Auction" of the parish Altar & Rosary Society. Items are donated by members of the parish and many are hand made. Participants drop one of their tickets into the appropriate cup and a winner is drawn from each cup.

St. Mary's Altar & Rosary Society is very active and has several events and activities each year. For more information on the Altar & Rosary Society, go to our Organizations Page.

First Communion Class

In addition to regular Religious Education classes, which meet twice each month, the Church of St. Mary also has First Communion and Confirmation classes. Shown here is the 2002-2003 First Communion class. The photo was taken on December 7, 2002 as they were waiting to receive their first reconciliation from Father John. 

First Communion is normally scheduled in May and takes place at the 9:30 a.m. Mass on Sunday.

Religious Education

The Church of St. Mary has a well organized religious education program with a director of religious education as well as coordinators for grades 1-6 and grades 7-12. Throughout the school year, religious education is provided for youngsters in the parish from kindergarten through 12th grade. Classes meet in Burke Hall, the church basement, on Sunday. Special classes are provided for First Communion and Confirmation groups. Seven youngsters received their First Communion in May of 2001.

This photo shows the first grade religious education class with their teacher, Carla Engelbarts.

Meditation Garden

The Meditation Garden was a favorite spot of our former pastor, Father Don Smithes. It is located around a small section of lawn between the church and rectory. Effectively shut off from the world by the two buildings, it offers a private outdoor location very suitable for prayer and meditation. 

Christmas 1999

The appearance of the church takes on an entirely different look during the Christmas season as we celebrate the birth of Christ. 

Gothic Memorial Windows

When the new church was completed in 1900, the newspapers considered the windows to be a major feature and described them at length. The 18 gothic memorial windows were donated by parish families and were said to have been made of opalescent and cathedral glass. On the bottom of each window is the name of the original family or individual responsible for the donation back at the turn of the century.

One of the windows was carefully moved and relocated when the annex was built on the south side of the church. This new construction provides rest rooms, a coat rack, and an entrance to Burke Hall, the church basement. The window which was originally on the side of the church building at that location was moved to the new annex. All of the windows are being carefully cleaned and restored in 2001.

This particular window is unique. It is hidden away in the southwest corner of the church in an area originally called the Winter Chapel and now used by Mass servers. What makes this window unique is that it shows the names of the priests who served the parish prior to the construction of the new church in 1900.