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A TIME TO CHANGE
1956 - 1966
In 1958 the Oblates of the Central Province were strong enough in manpower that they could open their own missions in Scandinavia. In 1962 Fr. John F. Taylor, OMI, a St. Henry's alumnus and former teacher, was named Bishop of Stockholm, Sweden, where he would serve until his death in September 1976.
Some 800 young men became part of St. Henry's history in the forth decade of the seminary's existence. Between 56 and 66, Fr. Clarence Meile,OMI, and Fr. Francis Zachman,OMI, were rectors. During these years the Old St. Mary's Hall was razed, a two-story dormitory was constructed, and mobil homes were chosen for a new faculty residence. Since mines located under the campus had caused considerable damage to the new dormitory, four other mobile units were constructed to serve as auxiliary sleeping quarters for the seminarians. These years were the proverbial years of calm before the storm.
The death of Pope Pius XII and the accession to the Chair of Peter by Pope John XXII I in 1958 brought a new era for the Church. Conciliar changes would start slow and would not reach full steam until the following decade. The first substantial sign of new directions at St. Henry's came with the decision to discontinue the college program at St. Henry's. High school graduates of 1965, both Oblate and Diocesan, would continue their studies at Lewis College in Lockport, IL., while residing at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.
Since the school was now exclusively a high school, principal Fr. James Rohr, OMI, and athletic Director, Fr. Joseph Svobodny, OMI, applied for admission to the Illinois High School Association, thus permitting the seminarians to compete in sports and speech with other high schools in the state. St. Henry's profile could. not have been better, for a record number of 235 students were enrolled in the High School, of which 100 were freshmen. In the spirit of the Second Vatican Council, the staff at St. Henry's began to re-examine goals and objectives, seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit as St. Henry's High School Seminary prepared for years of change.
