1880

St. Mary's Orphanage was established in Metamora by Archbishop John Lancaster and operated by the hospital Franciscan sisters.

Nov. 15, 1890

Sister Mary Pacifica arrived in Metamora with a new community of sisters to staff the diocesan orphanage.

Feb. 2, 1891

Sister Pacifica and the original members pledged their vows of poverty, chastity and obedience as the new order of the Sisters of St. Frances of the Immaculate Conception.

1908

A new main building for the orphanage was built at the cost of $25,000.  (This building later became part of the Metamora school system.)

1913

Bishop Edmund M. Dunne decided to move the orphanage to Peoria.  For $13,000 the 28-acre Oesterles's Grove, a popular picnic ground in West Peoria, was purchased.

Aug. 15, 1914

St. Mary's orphanage moved from Metamora to Guardian Angel Home in Peoria.  The name change is attributed to Bishop Dunne's fond memories of his Chicago Italian parish, Guardian Angel.

Nov. 26, 1914

The dedication ceremony for Guardian Angel Home was held on Thanksgiving Day. The new orphanage provided care and shelter for 100 children.

1925

Bishop Dunne asked a community of sisters from the East to organize a Peoria Diocesan Catholic Charities. 

1928

The Springfield Dominican Sisters assumed responsibility for Catholic Charities.  The first Charities office was rented space at City Hall and it was later moved to 413 N.E. Monroe.

1933

The Springfield Dominican Sisters discontinued their social work and Bishop Schlarman named Father Charles Williams the agency's first priest director.

1934

Father E.M. Farrell replaced Father Williams.

July 3, 1942

The renamed Catholic Social Service of the Diocese of Peoria was incorporated.

1942

Monsignor Gill Middleton succeeded Father Farrell as CSS Director.

1944

A second Catholic Social Service office was established in Rock Island.

1948

Spalding Memorial Hospital (Building G) originally erected as an isolation hospital, was renamed Schlarman Children's Home and used to care for infants and small children awaiting placement in a state facility for the retarded.

August 1952

Betty Gilmore was named the first lay director of CSS.

1956

Special services were established to help Hungarian refugee families.

1958

Cabrini Hall Maternity Home was established after the Home of the Good Shepard closed.

1960's

Special services were provided to Cuban refugee families.

1972

Bishop Edward O'Rourke assigned the operation of Guardian Angel Home to CSS.  This was the first major change in 50 years at Guardian Angel.  Under the direction of CSS, Guardian Angel facilities were expanded to serve a variety of needs including an emergency reception center for emotionally-disturbed children and a long-term home for pre-teen and teenage boys and girls.

The Heading Avenue Sisters (Sisters of St. Francis of Immaculate Conception.) withdrew from Guardian Angel after 83 years of service.

Cabrini Hall was relocated to the vacated convent.

1975

Refugee work became a major effort with the end of the Vietnam War.  Between 1975-1994 more than 5,000 persons had been resettled.

1976

The Rock Island office, which had operated as a separate office, became a branch office of Peoria.

1977

CSS began building the foundations of a senior citizens program that continue today through the North Office.

1978

The Natural Family Planning program was established as a separate agency service.

Late 1978

A wing of the Guardian Angel Building provided office space for the growing foster care staff, which started with 4 employees working out of the lunch room in the North Office.

1979

Tha Huong residential program for unaccompanied refugee children opened in a wing of Guardian Angel. The program ended in 1991.

1980

Women-In-Need (WIN) was first offered as an alternative outpatient pregnancy service.

The program was later renamed Women's Counseling and Support Services and relocated to the North Office in Peoria.  It offers free pregnancy testing, counseling and other needed services.

1983

Services were established in 8 counties for Crisis Intervention emergency/advocacy services for status offenders.

January 1986

Foster Care moves its main offices to the former Schlarman Children's Home, which had been occupied by the Diocesan Board of Education.

1986

Community Area Projects (CAP) were established in Peoria and Bloomington-Normal.  These are grass roots programs which recruit local residents to identify existing problems and steps for action.  Two other centers in Pekin and Danville have been added.  LaCasa Center was merged with PCAP.

1988

Cabrini Hall moved into newly renovated and expanded quarters over the garage.

CSS extended its residential maternity services with a new innovative program by establishing St. Anne maternity Treatment Center for pregnant and parenting wards of DCFS. To meet the need of caring for the infants from St. Anne and Cabrini Halls, the Jesu Children's Enrichment Center was established. It was originally licensed for 39 infants and preschoolers.

1891-1991

Centennial year for sisters of St. Francis of the Immaculate Conception.

1993

Special services were provided to residents of Western Illinois as a result of massive flooding along the Mississippi River.  

1993-1994

Jesu expanded to Jesu II and III   increasing capacity to 185 infants and preschoolers.

1994

St. Anne II was added to meet expansion needs.

1995

Betty Gilmore retired as the director of CSS and Peggy Arizzi was named as CEO of Catholic Social Service.

1996

The Natural Family Planning program became part of the Diocesan Office of Family Life.

1997

The first employee survey was conducted.  Resulting changes include use of sick time for family members as well as self, two religious holidays were converted into personal days, and a lunch room was incorporated into the Guardian Angel building for Peoria Campus employees.

July 1, 1999

PROMISE Foster Care Program began encompassing the tri-county area.

1999

Cabrini Hall was closed.

July 1999

CSS New Employee Orientation was initiated.

December 1999

CSS was accredited through the Council On Accreditation for Children and Families.

2000

St. Anne Hall was closed.

April 23. 2001

Joe Knapp was named the first Mission, Vision, and Identity Director for CSS.

September 2001

Home Visitation contract awarded to the Champaign office.

Fall 2001

Bishop Myers of the Peoria Diocese was named archbishop of Newark, New Jersey.

April 10, 2002

Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, C.S.C. was installed as the eighth bishop of the Diocese of Peoria.

November 26, 2002

Catholic Social Service became Catholic Charities.

June 2003

Rogy's took over the management of Jesu Children's Enrichment Center.