BY HANNAH KOHUT Correspondent November 1, 2011 9:18PM
The pews of St. Agnes Catholic Church in Chicago Heights were packed Tuesday morning for a celebration a century in the making. The “honoree” was St. James Hospital, which is marking its 100th anniversary this year. Presiding was Cardinal Francis George, archbishop of the Chicago Archdiocese.
“This is the beginning of a new century,” George said at a Thanksgiving Mass to mark the success of the hospital, which is across a parking lot from the church. Nearly 200 people attended the Mass to hear the Cardinal speak about the history of the hospital, 1423 Chicago Road.
“It’s a wonderful hospital that has served the people of Chicago Heights and the surrounding suburbs well for so long,” George said. “I hope that as we redo the health system in our country that we will have a system that respects conscience, that respects Catholic identity like places like St. James.
“It makes it a wonderful place of healing, and I’m very grateful that I can celebrate this anniversary with everyone today.”
St. James Hospital chief executive Seth Warren said it was an honor to have George take part in the celebration.
“It’s great that he, a very busy man, took time away from his day to come and honor us with his presence; it’s very impressive,” Warren said. “It’s incredible that the sisters, 100 years ago, started on this endeavor, and 100 years later it’s still going strong.
“The hospital has been a place of employment for many people over the generations, a location for those who are hungry and for those in need, particularly in the early part of the (20th) century with all the factories,” Warren said. “It’s been a beacon in good times and in bad.”
The Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration opened what then was a 50-bed hospital on Thanksgiving Day in 1911 in Chicago Heights, according to hospital officials. St. James since has grown into a two-campus health care system with another hospital at 20201 Crawford Ave. in Olympia Fields.
In keeping with its mission, St. James provides millions of dollars in free health care annually for the indigent as well as spiritual and emotional support to the community, hospital officials said.
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