St. Mary of Vernon Catholic Church

In the summer of 1978, Father John Finnegan was sent by John Cardinal Cody to the Vernon Hills area of Lake County “to do pastoral work in the area of Vernon Hills with a view of establishing a new parish there.” It was clear very soon that the character of this local church community would reflect the faith, enthusiasm and Vatican Council II vision of its people. Through each progressive stage th

is vision unfolded – from the first Mass on August 15, 1978 in space rented from Hawthorn Jr. High School in Vernon Hills, through the first Mass in our new Worship Center on August 15, 1981, and into a future of continued growth. The people of the parish discovered who they were in the Lord and who they were called to be as this local Church. We started small and continue to expand. For the “house” where this local Church first met for the breaking of bread was in a home on Cherokee Road where the neighbors were not so sure they liked all those cars parked on their street. Then this local church, like the Israelite people carrying all their belongings in the desert, set up a temporary "house/home” for worship in Hawthorn school cafeteria. After that, this local church fashioned a multi-use building for worship as well as for social and community activities - a building which has served us well for over two decades and will continue to serve us well for many different ministries. In December 2005, we began to worship together in a new church building which had been the dream of many from the very beginning.