Friends, the Lithuanian-American Community of Greater St. Louis is having a fall festival this Sunday, Oct. 23, at the beautiful church built by Lithuanian immigrants in East St. Louis. I wonder if Senator Dick Durbin’s family (his mother came from Lithuania as a toddler) worshiped there when he was growing up…?
I know this is late notice–but I just learned of the event. The celebration starts with a genuine Lithuanian mass, followed by a luncheon, entertainment, and more. Should be nice to experience a community larger than our own, and still with a Lithuanian church. Check out the schedule below, and don’t worry about the RSVP deadline. The mass is certainly open, and you may still even be able to attend the dinner and entertainment afterwards. Contact the organizers through their FaceBook page.
Lithuanians in Springfield, Illinois 
Jerome King said:
The Immaculate Conception Lithuanian Roman Catholic Church at East St. Louis maybe the second largest Lithuanian parish outside of Chicago. This historic parish was organized in 1895 and the new Lithuanian American national romantic church was designed by renowned post modern WWII Lithuanian architects Jonas Mulokas and V. K. Jonynas to replace the structure destroyed by fire. The present day church is similar in design to those post World War II Lithuanian churches in Chicago. Like the large Lithuanian community that lived near the stockyards of Chicago, so was the once vibrant Lithuanian community near the now defunct National St. Louis Stockyards in East St. Louis, IL. The church still stands and is seen by thousands which drive past it along Interstates 64/55/70. Although the East St. Louis Lithuanian community no longer live in this Emerson Park neighborhood, the area is being redeveloped into a viable community with Immaculate Conception Lithuanian church still a strong anchor along 15th & Baugh Avenues. This is the same church which US Senator Dick Durbin’s mother called her home parish and he may have been christened. Most in the St. Louis area look to Immaculate Conception as a focal point for those Lithuanians in the Metropolitan area. A unique shrine to Our Lady of Siluva. built in Lithuanian style, has a white marble statue of Our Lady placed on a high pedestal on the church grounds. For southern Illinois and the St. Louis region, Immaculate Conception is heritage.
sandyb52 said:
Jerome, thanks for this info–I am just seeing it now because I was strangely locked out of my account for a few months. So good to know that the neighborhood around Immaculate Conception is being brought back to life and the church is anchoring that. I asked my contact with Dick Durbin if he had a connection to the parish and was told “no.” Maybe my contact misunderstood my question, since he has lived in Springfield so many years now. Did you see the recent article I placed in the Belleville newspaper about the church being placed on the “Destination Lithuanian America” map? Sandy