Catholic Bishop of Chicago v. Murr

• Decision Date: 24 May 1954
• Docket Number: No. 33029,33029
• Citation: 120 N.E.2d 4,3 Ill.2d 107
• Parties: CATHOLIC BISHOP OF CHICAGO et al. v. MURR et al.
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court

Page 4

120 N.E.2d 4

3 Ill.2d 107

CATHOLIC BISHOP OF CHICAGO et al. v. MURR et al.

No. 33029.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

May 24, 1954.

Louis Lagger, George N. Blatt, Jr., and Wise & Wise, Joliet, for appellants.

Francis A. Dunn, Joliet, for appellees.

SCHAEFER, Chief Justice.

This appeal presents for decision the construction of a deed conveying property for use as a cemetery. From the pleadings and a stipulation of facts it appears that on September 3, 1849, Michael Shields, John Belz and Edward Conlon, and their respective wives, in consideration of $100, sold and conveyed to the Catholic Bishop of Chicago and his successors in office the property in question, hereafter referred to as Lot 56, 'to have and to hold the same together with all and singular the tenements hereditaments and appurtenances unto the same belonging or in anywise appertaining unto him the said Right Reverand (sic) James Van De Velde Catholic Bishop of Chicago aforesaid and to his successors in office forever in trust for the following purposes (To Wit) that the said Lot or parcel of land shall at all times be used as a Burial Ground for the Catholic population of Joliet in Will County aforesaid and its vicinity. And for Charitable and literary purposes and that the Grantee herein and his Successor or Successors in office shall have no power or authority whatever by virtue of this Deed to sell let hire or in any manner dispose of said lot or any part or parcel of the same.'

Prior to September 3, 1849, there existed in the town of Joliet as 'the Catholic population of Joliet in Will County aforesaid and its vicinity' only the then members of St. Patrick's parish, who were then and still are an unincorporated association of persons. The church was then located approximately six city blocks due east of Lot 56, and the members of St. Patrick's parish constructed a cemetery on the eastern three-fourths of Lot 56 which became and is still known as St. Patrick's Cemetery.

In 1922, the city of Joliet extended Hunter Avenue, one of its public thoroughfares, northward across Lot 56 from its southern boundary to its northern boundary. The part of Lot 56 lying east of Hunter Avenue constitutes the eastern three-fourths of Lot 56, and ever since 1849 has been and still is used as a burial ground by the members of the St. Patrick's parish. That part of Lot 56 lying west of Hunter Avenue is a narrow triangle bounded on the north by Jefferson Street, which, at that point, is an Illinois State highway known as State Route No. 52; on the west by Raynor Avenue, one of the principal north and south bound streets of Joliet; on the south by Washington Street, and on the east by Hunter Avenue. It has thus far been kept free from all interments, and for more than twenty-five years has been used as a public playground for children. The disposition of this western quarter of Lot 56 is the issue in this case.

The Catholic Bishop of Joliet, as successor in office to the grantee in the deed, and the Catholic Bishop of Chicago, desiring to sell this part of Lot 56, brought an action in the circuit court of Will County to construe the deed of September 3, 1849. The defendants were named and unknown heirs of the original grantors and several members of St. Patrick's parish. The Plaintiffs asked that the provision in the deed prohibiting alienation be declared invalid, and that they be decreed to hold the property in fee simple, free of any restriction as to sale. In the alternative they asked the court, if it should construe the deed as creating a charitable trust, to direct the sale of the premises as no longer suitable for cemetery use, and to direct the application of the proceeds to such Catholic charitable or literary uses, or the acquisition of Catholic burial grounds as the court deemed just and equitable. The trial court accepted the plaintiff's first contention and entered a decree accordingly. Since a freehold is involved the defendants have appealed directly to this court.

A condition in a deed which wholly forbids alienation, as does the condition in this conveyance, is invalid unless the deed creates a charitable trust. McFadden v. McFadden, 302 Ill. 504, 135 N.E. 31; Stubblefield v. Peoples Bank, 406 Ill. 374, 94 N.E.2d 127. The decision of this case therefore turns on whether a gift of land to be used for cemetery purposes is a gift for a charitable use. The general nature of a charitable trust has often been defined by this court. It is a trust whose purpose is the mental, spiritual, or physical benefit of the public at large, or a part of it, as distinguished from one for purely private benefit or profit. Stubblefield v. Peoples Bank, 406 Ill. 374, 385, 94 N.E.2d 127; Skinner v. Northern Trust Co., 288 Ill. 229, 232, 123 N.E. 289; 2 A Bogert, Trusts, sec. 361. Familiar examples of charitable uses for religious purposes...