Many Catholic churches are named after important people. We see their names on signs, both near and close to their buildings.

Some names are familiar with Catholics and non-Catholics alike: John, Paul, Peter, Patrick, Mary and other more common ones.

Then there’s the name of a “St. Somebody” somewhere along the travels that makes you wonder, “Who?” Ambrose, Wendelin, Gail, Bridget, Stanislaus – names that one won’t find in the Bible.

In Harmon, Illinois – in western Lee County – the Saint of choice is a guy named Flannan. Why him? It just happened to be the name of someone of lore to Catholics who settled in the area.

In the 1870s, the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy railroad cut through the center of Lee County, and several communities were established along its path, Harmon being one of them. As communities developed, the Rockford Diocese sought to establish large brick, stately churches in them. Even today, rural Lee County has a strong Catholic presence.

When the church in Harmon was hatched, the name Flannan came to mind from its locals. Only one problem: They didn’t know exactly how to spell the guy’s name. As a result, we have St. Flannen Catholic Church. With an E. It has stuck.

Even with the spelling error, the church managed to accomplish something no other Catholic Church in the United States did: Name their church after this guy, regardless of spelling.

In the fall of 2023, I wrote a story for Shaw Media’s Small Town Living East magazine (for rural Lee County) on St. Flannen’s 125th anniversary. I interviewed a former pastor who lives nearby and served there throughout the 1980s. Stained glass windows are a neat visual appeal to me, so they are featured in the story.

Catholic and needing to travel on a Sunday morning? Mass is at 8:30 a.m.

Next time you drive by a Catholic church and don’t know who that is, they have a story to tell that’s not really told often – and see if that name is spelled correctly.

For Flannen … FlannAn … I share some of that along with the church’s history in the story below. Click HERE to read it in its entirety, or scroll the pages below. (Note: magazine may not appear when reading this post in this site’s online newsletter.)