St. Thomas of Canterbury
4827 N. Kenmore Avenue, Chicago
This is the first parish formed by Archbishop George Mundelein. Designed by architect Joe McCarthy, it is also the first colonial-style Catholic church in the archdiocese. (It influenced the lines of Mundelein Seminary.)
The Uptown area has seen the best and worst of times. In the ’20s it had silent movie studios and the lively Aragon Ballroom. Eventually it became a community of immigrants arriving in waves of Spanish-speaking, Native Americans, Vietnamese and others. Some have moved on; new families have moved in. While slowly gentrifying, it still relies on its soup kitchen, food and clothing pantries gifted by sharing parishes St. Francis Xavier, Wilmette; and Queen of All Saints, Sauganash. What remains is a viable school and traditions like an outdoor Corpus Christi procession and a kaffeeklatch after Masses. Here diverse and welcoming parishioners are strong in their faith, participate in liturgies, and make a difference.