Mass was first celebrated at a public school in this Marquette Park neighborhood on the Southwest Side.

This Tudor Gothic church, designed by Meyer and Cook, was dedicated by Cardinal George Mundelein a month before the Great Depression hit in 1929. Resilience is a hallmark here, along with a strong sense of community.

Today’s worshippers, numbering less than 600 at weekend liturgies, display a blend of traditional religiosity and commitment to social justice. Parishioners are well represented in the South West Organization Project, Cease-Fire Initiative, and in opposing predatory mortgage-lending practices locally.

With a devotion to the Rosary and Our Lady of Guadalupe, the parish’s Filipinos, African-Americans and Spanish- and English-speaking neighbors “try to live their faith beyond Sunday.” This modest church’s surprise is its two-manual Votteler-Holtkamp organ with 366 pipes, still tenderly maintained and capable of faithfully lifting every heart.

Pastor: Father Theodore L. Ostrowski
Masses: Saturdays 4 p.m./ Sundays 8, 10; 11:30 a.m. Spanish
Seating capacity: 600
Phone: (773) 434-3223

Photo by Sandy Bertog