Reverend Armand C. Martin
By Jim Wright
Although
his name is not inscribed in bronze on the plaque near the altar listing
the pastors of St. Joseph Church, there should be no dispute, however,
that Reverend Armand C. Martin is St. Joseph’s founding “father”.
Father Martin was born in 1880 in Hanover, Kansas. He was ordained on May 25, 1907 and received his seminary education at St. Viateur’s College in Bourbonnais. The college, run by the Clerics of St. Viator, was established in 1865 and closed in 1939. The land and buildings were later sold and became Olivet Nazarene College now University. Following his ordination, Father Martin was assigned as an assistant pastor at St. Louis de France Church on 117th Street in Chicago.
In
1911, Martin was assigned to organize a parish in Hazel Crest. With great
enthusiasm, Father Martin directed the construction of a 24’ x 50’
wood frame building near 172nd Street and Loomis in what was to become
East Hazel Crest. Once completed, the church was consecrated in honor
of St. Anne. This church building was later moved in 1920 to the northwest
corner of 171st and Wood Streets in Hazel Crest. The building still stands
and is currently owned by a Protestant denomination.
With his new congregation thriving near Hazel Crest, Father Martin was again directed to establish another church, this time in Homewood. In January 1912, Father Martin petitioned the Homewood Village Board for use of the village hall meeting room on Sundays to say Mass for Catholics in the village and surrounding area. His request was granted and the first Mass was celebrated in the village hall on January 12th. In May, the Archdiocese of Chicago purchased land on the Chicago-Vincennes Road (Dixie Highway) and by June Martin was again overseeing construction of a small wood frame church building.
The
church was completed in September 1912 and Archbishop James E. Quigley
conducted the dedication ceremonies that month. The ceremonies also included
the administration of the sacrament of Confirmation to 25 children from
Hazel Crest and Homewood. Father Martin remained the administrator of
both churches until January 15, 1914 when he was assigned as the first
resident pastor of St. John Church in Glenwood, a congregation whose origins
date to 1884. Reverend John P. Doran succeeded Father Martin at St. Joseph.
In 1914, St. Joseph Church was elevated to the status of a parish and
Father Doran served as the first pastor.
Father Martin ministered to the people of Glenwood until July 11, 1924 when he was assigned to the pastorate of St. Agnes Church in Chicago Heights. After his arrival at St. Agnes, Martin immersed himself in plans to replace that congregations wood frame church and school buildings with a new brick building to house both the church and school. The structure that was built cost over $135,000, a rather large sum for the day, and “embodied all of the modern conveniences” of the time. As a testament to Father Martin’s foresight, the church and school building he planned for St. Agnes is still in use today.
Citing
ill health from all the strain of leading a growing congregation and the
stress of overseeing an extensive expansion and building program, Father
Martin resigned as pastor of St. Agnes in May of 1928. He then traveled
to the West to seek a better climate to regain his health. In September
1928, Father Martin returned to Illinois and was assigned as administrator
of St. Mary Church in Minooka, which was a part of the Archdiocese of
Chicago at that time. Father Martin was named pastor of St. Mary’s
in July 1940 and remained at this parish until his death on April 25,
1946 at the age of 66.
Father Martin was survived by two brothers and three sisters. His body lay in state at the church in Minooka for two days where large crowds of former parishioners and friends came to pay their respects. A solemn requiem high Mass was said on April 29, 1946 after which, burial services were conducted at St. Mary Cemetery in Minooka.
In his obituary, the Archdiocesan newspaper, The New World, noted that “ he organized parishes at Hazel Crest, Homewood, Glenwood and Lansing, often wielding hammer and saw himself to realize the ambition of providing a place of worship for his flock.” These words so aptly describing the enthusiasm Martin had for his faith and Church.
While Father Martin’s tenure at St. Joseph was brief and his role is officially recorded as “administrator”, his impact has been great as it was through his tireless efforts the parish was established and our first church was built.