St. Hubert's ready for major renovation

Jeanne Murphy has a sentimental attachment to St. Hubert Parish in Hoffman Estates.

"All the important events of my family's life have happened here," said the Hoffman Estates resident. "Baptisms, confirmations, first communions, weddings."

But Murphy said she is "150 percent" in favor of the church's upcoming renovation, which will cost an estimated $4.6 million.

Sunday was the last day of services for another 10 months at the 40-year-old church at 729 Grand Canyon Street. During that hiatus, it will undergo a facelift that will transform the church, which serves more than 3,000 families, into a more intimate worship space featuring a radial design with curved pews and benches located closer to the altar. Renovations will also include an improved sound system, as well as updated plumbing and electrical systems.

"I'm really excited about it. I'm really looking forward to it. I like the curved pews being closer to the sanctuary," said Murphy, who moved to the area in the late 1950s. "The building needed a lot of repair."

The last Mass was celebrated at 6 p.m. That evening, there was a grand procession, during which key items were removed from the church, including altar cloths, sacred oils, the paschal candle, the baptismal water, sacred books, the cross and the crucifix.

The pews will be sold, enabling the church to avoid the $8,000 expense of moving them.

During services Sunday morning, the Rev. Robert Rizzo, pastor of St. Hubert, encouraged churchgoers to continue attending services, which will be held temporarily in a multi-purpose room, regularly used as a gym, in the Parish Ministry Center.

Rizzo alluded to the recent experience of going to dinner at his cousin's house in Schaumburg, only to be told everyone would be eating in the basement, since the kitchen was being remodeled. Then, when the group reached the basement, Rizzo said he was informed that the dishes had been misplaced, so they would have to eat off paper plates.

"There will be people who will say, 'I know you're going to be renovating, you're going to be moving over to a multi-purpose room. I'm going to go to a real church for the next 10 months and I'll see you when the church is renovated,'" Rizzo said. "I'm going to ask you, if possible, to resist that temptation.

"This is a temporary thing," he said, adding that although a worship space is important, "The essential part is worshipping God, wherever He may be, and staying together as a family."

The new facility is actually the third phase of improvements at the parish; the first two phases were an addition to the school and the construction of the ministry center.

"A lot of things are deteriorating, and (the renovations) need to be done," said parishioner Mike DeLarco of Schaumburg.

Yvonne Cassa, the parish's liturgy coordinator, said the change will be bittersweet.

"There is an excitement about it," she said. At the same time, though, she added, "There is an unknown. It's unfamiliar."