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St. Procopius Abbey Cemetery |
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Although St. Procopius Abbey was founded in 1885, it was not until 1902 that a member of the community died. By that time, the Abbey, originally founded in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago’s Near West Side, had purchased land in Lisle. A number of brothers had operated a farm from 1896, and in 1901 St. Procopius College had relocated from Chicago to the newly-established college building in Lisle (the north section of what is now Benedictine Hall). A brother-novice, Bernard Hruby, only sixteen years old, took ill and died in January 1902. He was buried to the west of Benedictine Hall, in the area where Founders’ Woods has been built. |
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A few years later, a permanent site was selected and trees were planted demarcating the boundry for the permanent monastery cemetery, near what would become the slough (more recently called Lake St. Benedict). The remains of Br. Bernard were then transferred, and the new site was ready for the community’s next death, that of one of the monastery’s founders, Fr. Wenceslaus Kocarnik, in May 1912. During the 1920’s, the monastic community (which had been officially transferred to Lisle in 1914) decided that the parents and unmarried siblings of monks could also, if it was desired, be buried in the Abbey cemetery.
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On May 30, 1929, a massive granite cross in the center of the cemetery was dedicated. This was the gift of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Hrdlicka, parents of two of the monks, Frs. Clement and Adolph. The distinctive terrazo crosses on many of the graves were produced by Br. Procopius Koukal for several decades before his death in 1968. In 1979-1980, the cemetery was expanded to its present size. |
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Of the 147 deceased monks of St. Procopius Abbey, all but two are buried in the cemetery. Fr. Ildephonse Branstetter died in Beijing and was buried there in 1945, and Fr. Ambrose Wang was buried at the Abbey’s mission in Chiayi, Taiwan, after his death in 1991. Commemorative stones have been placed in the Abbey cemetery for these two monks. As well as the monks and their relatives, the cemetery contains the remains of several students of the schools, various workmen, several visiting priests, members of the Missionary Oblates of St. Scholastica, and other friends of the community. |
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May they rest in peace... |
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