Roamin' Catholic Churches: Chicago-IL

Showing posts with label Chicago-IL. Show all posts

Sunday, January 11, 2015

St. John Cantius, Chicago, Illinois - Christmas in Chicago (Kind of Late for) Advent Series, Part 4

Here is the last stop for the 2014 Christmas season Chicago Church Chase. Here we have a parish like Sts. Hyacinth, Mary of the Angels, and Stanislaus Kostka, originally Polish. Like St. Mary of the Angels especially, this church came dangerously close to being shuttered in the late 20th Century and has survived. The biggest thing that makes this parish unique is that it has transformed into possibly Chicago's best known home for the Latin Mass. Take a close look up the aisle and you'll see that there is only a high altar here.

Gothic temporary Nativity scene. The poinsettias complement the generally dark complexion of the church wonderfully.

"Jezusowi dopomaga szymon cyrenejczyk." (Polish)

"Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus." (English)

Even with the presence of the Latin Mass, signs of the original Polish presence still abound.

A stunning display of the Pietà.

Side altar devoted to Our Lady of Częstochowa and Child.

St. Mary.

St. Clare of Assisi.

If I had more photos in focus from these confessionals, I would have made a post featuring them alone. Here we see a pair of ornate confessionals with a statue of Jesus consoling a sinner in the middle. A closer look at this statue allows for deep looks at the sorrow of the sinner and the merciful response in Jesus' face and posture. I don't compare a lot of reconciliation stations, but this one is impressive in display and I think it gives the visitor a chance to take stock in the importance of the Sacrament (or even the concept) of Reconciliation for many.

St. Lawrence, with a gridiron representing his death as a martyr.

Another, perhaps hidden gem at St. John Cantius: Tucked away from the church proper is an incredible 1/3 scale replica of the Gothic altar at St. Mary's Church in Krakow, Poland. This replica of the 15th Cenutry Wit Stwosz was completed by Michal Batkiewicz in 2003 [1].

Not even the floors escape the artistic influence.

St. Cecilia.

While the Polish residential districts were of incredible scale around the church in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, much of the area around St, John Cantius is now industrial or grounded under the Kennedy Expressway (Interstates 90 and 94). It is the Latin Mass that makes this parish thrive today, and folks come from all over Chicagoland to attend Mass here.

It is clearly late for wishing a Merry Christmas, but I hope you and yours have had a joyous and safe Holiday Season and that your 2015 is full of blessings and enough exploration to keep things interesting. Thanks for reading this and my other posts!

St. John Cantius Parish

825 N. Carpenter Street, Chicago, IL 60642

http://www.cantius.org/

Additional Sources
[1] McNamara, Denis R.,. Heavenly City: The Architectural Tradition of Catholic Chicago, Chicago, IL: Archdiocese of Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications, 2005, 52.

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

St. Michael in Old Town & Assumption, Chicago, Illinois - Christmas in Chicago Advent Series, Part 3

After visiting three churches on my Christmas Chicago Church Chase, my camera's battery began to die. I managed to take a few photos at three more churches, two of which you see here. These first photos are from St. Michael in the Old Town neighborhood.

The Poor Souls Altar, which depicts a soul being raised from Purgatory [1].

St. Catherine of Alexandria.

The Sacred Heart Altar. Sts. Alphonsus Ligouri & Teresa Avila flank Jesus on this altar [2].

The Infant of Prague.

Our Mother of Perpetual Help Altar [3].

St. Michael's is one of Chicago's older parishes. In fact, the church building that preceded the present structure succumbed to the Chicago Fire of 1871. That building was one of the tallest in Chicago at the time, with a steeple reaching 200 feet (larger than the still-standing famous water tower on North Michigan Avenue). This building, erected shortly after the fire, points higher still, with the 290-foot tower dominating the Old Town neighborhood [4].

Assumption Catholic Church is in the River North neighborhood, only blocks from such iconic landmarks as the Hancock Tower and the Magnificent Mile. Originally founded for the Italian community, its location within downtown brings all types of visitors near and in the church [5].

Perhaps most striking in my short visit were the stained glass windows, which depict a mix of older, more traditional religious events and more recent periods in the history of the Catholic Church. Above are views of one of these windows, where St. Frances Xavier Cabrini makes her landing in New York Harbor. St. Frances Xavier Cabrini moved on to Chicago and much of her life's work was performed through this church and the nearby Assumption School that she helped to run [6].

Left: Jesus and His Sacred Heart in a vision to St. Mary Alacoque.

Right: Pope John XXIII calling the start of Vatican II, with Chicago's bishops and archbishops near the bottom of the window [7].

St. Anthony of Padua with Child and St. Patrick.

St. Michael in Old Town Catholic Church

1633 N. Cleveland Avenue Chicago, IL 60614

http://www.st-mikes.org/

Assumption Catholic Church

323 W. Illinois Street, Chicago, IL 60622

http://assumption-chgo.org/Home.asp

Additional Sources
[1] http://www.st-mikes.org/89
[2] http://www.st-mikes.org/90
[3] http://www.st-mikes.org/92
[4] http://www.st-mikes.org/15
[5] http://assumption-chgo.org/WA.asp?dseq=41
[6] http://cabrinishrinechicago.com/mother-cabrini/
[7] http://assumption-chgo.org/rp.asp?dseq=43

Monday, December 1, 2014

Basilica of St. Hyacinth, Chicago, Illinois - Christmas in Chicago Advent Series, Part 1

Chicago is full of incredible churches, especially "Polish Cathedrals," a name assigned to the grand houses of worship built by Polish immigrants and their immediate descendants. This church however, is the only one of the grand Polish churches to be granted status as a minor basilica in Chicago. In fact, the basilica's umbraculum (Latin for umbrella), or Papal umbrella, is visible on the far left of the photo.

Contextual Note: On December 30th of last year, I took a day trip to Chicago primarily to take pictures of a few of Chicago's churches while they were decked out in all of their Christmastime splendor. Originally I planned to post them shortly after my visit, then as a "Christmas in July" series. Now here we are, almost a year later, and I am finally starting to post them. Perhaps the Advent season, which started this week, is more fitting for these photos anyway, but I'll let you, the reader, ponder that. Another note: For the sake of speed, I didn't use my tripod for any of the photos I plan to use for this series, Sometimes, that decision is reflected in the photo quality (all the more reason to re-shoot!).

One of the Basilica's many highlights is the dome above the center of the nave, featuring a painting that includes dozens of religious figures of both Polish and more general Catholic history. I wasn't able to get a great picture of the dome itself, but here is the stained glass window that makes up the centerpiece of the dome.

Jesus presenting St. Peter the Keys to the Kingdom as noted in the Gospel. Note the inclusion of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City near the top of the window.

Left: Side chapel featuring Our Lady of Częstochowa and Child.

Right: St. Barbara.

Left: Area to the right of the main altar, including the Basilica's tintinnabulum (bell), several shrines to St. Mary, and the Basilica's main crucifix.

Right: St. Joseph and Child.

St. John Cantius, Polish saint and the namesake for another of Chicago's Polish cathedrals.

The high altar. The Host was exposed for veneration at the time of my visit (see center). While most churches and chapels that I have visited are deathly silent when the Eucharist is visible (a time of Eucharistic adoration), I recall hearing vacuums inside the Basilica while I was taking pictures. Flanking the sides of the altar are Sts. Peter & Paul.

St. Haycinth as a priest, is depicted above the Host carrying a ciborium away from a Mass in Kiev, where he served for a time. Warned of an attack from an invading Tartar army, St. Hyacinth is shown while passing a statue of St. Mary & Child (shown to the left of St. Haycinth). As is summarized in Fr. Alban Butler's Lives of the Saints, a voice called to St. Hyacinth summoning him to carry the statue with him out of Kiev. As difficult as it seems to lug a statue around while avoiding invading troops, this saintly story meets its peak when St. Hyacinth is forced to cross the river Dnieper, and does so by walking across its surface.^[1]

From the narthex, another image of Our Lady of Częstochowa and Child. The icon at the far right is the Polish eagle, while the Polish text arching over Our Lady and Child.

One of bronze sets of doors at the main entrance of the Basilica. Sculpted by Polish artist Czesław Dźwigaj, we see among other events, the building of the Basilica and St. Hyacinth himself with Our Lady and Child on the right door.^[2] These doors were installed in 2005.^[3]