Pastor 1970-1987
Rev. George Aschenbrenner December 14, 1999
Rev. George Aschenbrenner, the longtime pastor of one of the Chicago area's most venerable churches, died of congestive heart failure Friday, Dec. 10, at the St. Benedict Home in Niles. He was 82.
After serving in several parishes in the area, Father Aschenbrenner led St. James at Sag Bridge Catholic Church from 1968 until retiring in 1987, according to the Archdiocese of Chicago. St. James is the area's oldest Catholic Church still operating in its original location. It was built in 1833 along the Sag Channel in what is now Lemont.
Father Aschenbrenner saw the church through significant renovations as it approached its 150th anniversary, longtime parishioners recalled. He organized a volunteer crew of skilled parishioners to overhaul the parish hall--doing some of the work himself, according to parishioner Teresa Jones. "He was quite the carpenter," she said.
Before coming to St. James, he served in St. Philomena, St. Matthew, Immaculate Conception, Sacred Heart and St. Aloysius parishes in Chicago and St. Liborius in Steger.
After retiring, he served as a chaplain at Alvernia Manor, a Lemont retirement home, said Bishop Timothy Lyne, the Chicago archdiocese's vicar for retired priests. Survivors include five sisters, Marianne Rouse, Barbara Wunsch, Helen Wilde, Rita Ryan and Angela Ambrose. Visitation will be from 3 to 9 p.m. Tuesday in St. James at Sag Bridge Catholic Church, 10060 S. Archer Ave, Lemont. Mass will be said there at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.