After we got pregnant for the second time, we canceled our planned nomadic stop in Mexico. We decided to stay in the US, however, and needed a change of scenery. Thus, we went back to Chicago. There are so many beautiful churches in Chicago. I (Julia) made it my mission during our time there to finally see as many of them as I could.
We only ended up spending three months in Chicago. We realized fairly early on that we would rather have our new baby closer to my side of the family. It was important to us that my parents get to spend some quality time with their grandkids, too. We actually made this decision a bit spontaneously. Frank took on the herculean effort of organizing all of the components related to moving across the country again. He packed our boxes, found a new doctor for me, selected our next apartment, and basically everything else you can think of involved in a big move. I, on the other hand, spent those last two weeks waking up extra early, attending various daily Masses, and trying to get the perfect pictures of the many, many beautiful churches throughout Chicago.
St. Stanislaus Kostka Catholic Church
I began my excursions with a revisit to St. Stanislaus Kostka, from our initial Chicago Church Tour. Frank already detailed the importance of this church to the Polish Catholic population of Chicago, so I’ll talk instead about the saint himself. St. Stanislaus Kostka’s feast day is November 13. He is known as the patron saint of novices, youth, young students, and seminarians. His intercession is also sought by those who suffer from serious illness. He died on the feast of the Assumption of Mary at age 17, August 15, 1568. When he was 16, his prayers were answered when he was visited by St. Barbara and two angels, who brought him the Blessed Sacrament. The Blessed Mother also appeared to him and informed him that it was God’s will that he enter the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuits.
St. Stanislaus knew he was too young to enter the order without his father’s permission. He walked 400 miles, disguised as a beggar, to request entrance to the Jesuit order in Bavaria. Fr. Peter Canisius, now a saint and doctor of the Church, accepted him. He spent 10 months as a novice before passing away. For more information about St. Stanislaus Kostka, click here.
Our Lady of Sorrows Basilica and National Shrine of St. Peregrine
One early morning, before Frank and Victoria woke up, I slipped out to head south, to the Basilica of Our Lady of Sorrows and National Shrine of St. Peregrine. I had seen some very interesting pictures on Google and was eager to see it for myself. One rather long drive later (we lived in a northern neighborhood in Chicago at the time), and I arrived. I knew daily Mass would start in about 15 minutes. Yet, I also recognized I needed to head back sooner rather than later.
I went in a side door and saw a beautiful representation of the Pieta statue, then walked inside. The pictures I had seen had not done it justice. The immensity and grandeur of the ceiling and the gorgeous sanctuary took my breath away. Yet, just as lovely as my surroundings, were the people! I met a man who had been a parishioner his whole life, and he gave me a brief history of the basilica. I thanked him and had to hurry out, so as to not be a distraction leaving Mass.
Unfortunately, in my rush, I completely forgot to seek out the shrine to St. Peregrine! I deeply regret this, to this day. St. Peregrine is the patron saint of those suffering from cancer, AIDS, or other life-threatening illnesses, and his feast day is May 1st (or 2nd or 4th, depending on the source, it’s very confusing). I had intended to ask for his intercession to pray for all of my family, friends, and their loved ones who have fought cancer. Guess we will have to go back one day!
St. Hedwig Catholic Church (Blessed Carlo Acutis Parish)
St. Hedwig is another Polish Catholic parish in the region of Wicker Park/Bucktown, where several of the most beautiful churches in Chicago reside. It was the fourth church staffed by the Resurrectionist Fathers in the early 1900s, built to serve more of the local Polish Catholic families of that time. Designed with Renaissance-style architecture, the mural on the ceiling of the sanctuary is my favorite part.
This parish offers 8:00 AM daily Masses, and I attended one the day after Our Lady of Sorrows. I took my photos after Mass, and once again, had another chat with a parishioner. I recently showed these pictures to Frank again. He regrets that we never attended Sunday Mass there, as it is such a gorgeous church.
St. Hedwig’s was combined with St. John Berchmans Church to form Blessed Carlo Acutis Parish. Both churches offer Masses and the sacraments. For more information about this parish, click here.
St. Michael Catholic Church in Old Town
In the heart of Old Town, nestled among the tall buildings of Chicago’s downtown, towers St. Michael’s Church. I visited this parish mid-morning and was immensely grateful to find it unlocked. I ventured inside and was stunned by the beauty of the high altar and the sweeping arches. In addition, I had the whole place to myself. This allowed me time for uninterrupted picture-taking and spending some quiet time in prayer. I really treasured this visit.
A Brief History of the Parish
Saint Michael in Old Town traces its roots back to 1852 when the Diocese of Chicago established the parish to serve the many German immigrants who had come to Chicago. It has been run by the Redemptorist Fathers and Brothers since 1860. It was named for St. Michael the Archangel (and a little for Michael Diversey, who donated the plot of land for the parish to be built). A very modest building was the first establishment. Over time, more land was purchased and a new structure was erected. On September 29, 1869, the feast day of St. Michael the Archangel, St. Michael’s new church building was blessed and dedicated.
Two years later, however, most of the church was destroyed by the Great Chicago Fire. The church was rebuilt, and endured the hardships of the Great Depression and World Wars I and II. These were especially trying for the German parishioners who still had ties to and family back in Germany. In more recent times, the church survived an attempt to rezone the neighborhood that would have turned Old Town into a slum, as well as the eventual gentrification of the neighborhood and the exodus of many of the Catholic parishioners. Today, the church does its best to continue to maintain and restore the beautiful altars, stained glass windows, and its organ for future parishioners.
St. Mary of the Angels Catholic Church
Another Renaissance-style church in Bucktown, one of our favorites anywhere we’ve been-St. Mary of the Angels. Frank already talked about this beautiful parish in our previous Church Tour post as well, so all I’ll add is a very brief history of its name, plucked from the church’s website here. I heartily recommend exploring their site, this incredible church has a rich history and it is extensively detailed.
“The name “St. Mary of the Angels” goes back to a little chapel on the outskirts of Assisi called Santa Maria degli Angeli—St. Mary of the Angels— rebuilt by St. Francis. According to local accounts, the church dates back to 364 when Pope Liberius erected this chapel for the Hermits of Josephat. In 516 the Benedictines took possession of the chapel, but by the time of St. Francis, it was in severe disrepair.”
St. Alphonsus de Liguori
Another day, another church. I made my way to daily Mass at St. Alphonsus de Liguori, knowing I was going to another beautiful church, but still not quite aware of what I had to look forward to. I was taken aback by the incredible brilliance of the blue ceiling and spent the majority of Mass just taking it all in, coupled with a big, dumb grin on my face. After a lovely Mass, I felt unhurried and at ease in my exploration of the interior. In addition, the lights stayed on, which allowed for much better quality photos. (I loved the beauty of St. Hedwig’s, but they never turned on more than a few small lights. Great pictures were hard to come by.) If I had had more time in town, I would have proposed attending a Sunday Mass here so Frank could have seen it too.
A brief history of the Saint- St. Alphonsus de Liguori (Feast Day-August 1) was an Italian mystic, Bishop, and Doctor of the Church, born in 1696 in Naples, Italy. He is the patron saint of moralists, confessors, and those suffering from arthritis. After practicing law for eight years, he was ordained a priest in 1726. In 1732, he founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, or the Redemptorists, at Scala. He wrote many important works, most notably “Moral Theology” and “The Glories of Mary.” A much more extensive detailing of his life can be found here.
St. Mary of the Lake Catholic Church
On our very last day in town, I finally made my way to St. Mary of the Lake Catholic Church. My biggest regret church-wise was how long it took me to finally visit this one. This parish was only six minutes from our apartment and had remarkably open hours. Many other churches in the area only ever opened for small portions of the day. St. Mary of the Lake remained open most every day for private prayer, had Adoration frequently, and yet, I never went until it was almost too late. I definitely took its availability for granted.
My mother-in-law has visited Italy several times, and she attended Mass with me here. She said the church’s interior strongly reminded her of St. Paul Outside the Walls, which, along with St. Mary Major, was a major design influence for the designer, Henry J. Schlacks, in 1913. This is another Renaissance-style church in the area, and additional history of the art and architecture can be found here. The parish is technically called St. Mary of the Lake and Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, as the two were combined back in 2021 due to “Renew My Church” restructuring.
Final Thoughts
There are still around six or seven churches, minimum, in the Chicago-area that I did not have time to visit before we moved. This pains me, as I fear the Chicago-church landscape may dramatically change before I can see them all. I have two main pieces of evidence for this fear. Over the course of our two times living there, I did my research into trying to find all of the local churches that, to my very subjective eye, were beautiful. I found one that I believe was called St. Boniface, which had previously closed down. I could tell from the walls and structure that it had been very grand and beautiful, but it was cleared out and covered in graffiti. This broke my heart.
Also, I had a church in a northern neighborhood of Chicago, St. Thomas Aquinas, I had pinned on Google Maps. By the time I finally got around to trying to go see it, only coordinates remained at the pin. The church had closed, and I never got to see it. Furthermore, as mentioned above, St. Hedwig and St. Mary of the Lake both combined with other parishes. I sense this practice will continue over time, as priests and financial resources become even more scarce.
A Word of Hope
I don’t mean to be gloomy and negative here. It just seemed important to me to acknowledge how fleeting this all is. I had an immense amount of fun exploring and experiencing these gorgeous churches throughout the city. I believe we will continue to have a blast exploring churches throughout the country and throughout the world. There will always be beautiful churches that will have closed before we get to them, and there will (hopefully) always be new beautiful churches built in any given place. I choose to be grateful for the time I had with the parishes and basilicas I had the privilege of seeing. I hope to be able to visit again and see the rest as well. If it doesn’t work out, I only ask that God’s will may continue to be done.
I hope these images and these stories inspire any of you readers to go out and discover the beauty that may reside in your own towns, cities, or countries. The Catholic Church is everywhere, and the faithful have spent centuries erecting places of worship designed to attempt to imitate His beauty. Visit these places and spend time with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.
I want to close with two quotes from St. Alphonsus de Liguori on prayer:
“Realize that you may gain more in a quarter of an hour of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament than in all other practices of the day.”
And,
“Acquire the habit of speaking to God as if you were alone with Him, familiarly and with confidence and love, as to the dearest and most loving of friends. Speak to Him often of your business, your plans, your troubles, your fears— of everything that concerns you. Converse with Him confidently and frankly; for God is not wont to speak to a soul that does not speak to Him.”
God bless, and tune in next time for our next chapter where we become a family of four!
– Julia