More About Epiphany Catholic Church – Normal, Illinois

From the parish website: http://www.epiphanyparish.com/

HONORING THE PAST, OPENING NEW DOORS:
OUR PARISH HISTORY
Prior to 1966, Normal did not have a Catholic parish. On June 8 of that year, Bishop John Franz announced the establishment of Epiphany Catholic Church. A building fund campaign two years earlier funded the construction of an eight-classroom school, rectory, and convent on what had been farm property purchased by the Diocese of Peoria. Father John King, assistant pastor at Holy Trinity Parish in Bloomington, was named pastor. Four Franciscan Sisters from Peoria, along with two lay teachers, were engaged to staff the school. Masses were held in the school cafeteria prior to completion of the church which was dedicated on March, 27, 1973.

With the retirement of Father King in 1995, Rev. Thomas Maloney, a former Epiphany assistant pastor, was named pastor by Bishop John Myers. Monsignor Maloney retired in 2002 and Monsignor Eric Powell became the parish’s third and current pastor.

In 1997, an addition to the school that included four new classrooms, a library/computer lab, and a parish multi-purpose room was completed. The Lyceum was built in 2000, adding a gymnasium and six junior high classrooms.

In 2005, plans for updating and restructuring of the original church were set in motion by the Long Range Planning Committee. After a fund drive, construction began after Easter in 2009, with Masses moving back to the school cafeteria and Lyceum. Doors to the renewed church opened on July 10, 2010.