More than 70 years ago, when St. Jude Catholic Parish was established in Joliet, Illinois, the community boasted a robust manufacturing sector with Caterpillar, Texaco, and US Steel among the big companies with plants in or near the gritty far-southwest suburb of Chicago.
But just as that area’s industry has since faded, Joliet’s Catholic congregations have also declined. Last year, the local bishop merged St. Jude into several other parishes, closed the sanctuary, and sold the property.
Buying the church structure and adjacent buildings, nearly eight acres in total: a growing evangelical congregation affiliated with the Assemblies of God. Victory City Church, based in another part of Joliet, purchased the old St. Jude complex for $1.75 million.
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