Holy Innocents in Chicago
Encyclopedia
Holy Innocents Church, is a church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago
located at 743 N. Armour St. in the East Village neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. It is a prime example of the so-called "Polish Cathedral style
" of churches in both its opulence and grand scale.
parish, the church was one of a network of Polish churches within the old Polish Downtown
. The first school and church were in buildings bought from the St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church that had been built in 1867. Holy Innocents remained an ethnic Polish parish until 1975, when it was assigned territorial boundaries. The former school is now the home of Bishop Alfred Abramowicz Seminary. The parish retains its strong identification with Chicago Polonia while welcoming Hispanics and Catholics of other ethnic groups. Although there has been much recent gentrification in the neighborhood, the parish continues to minister in English, Polish
and Spanish.
flourishes. Distinguishing features of the building include seven copper
domed roofs (one centrally located main dome
and six lesser dome
s), bell tower
s on the west façade, and stained glass
windows imported from Austria
and Poland
. Varied hues of red brick
masonry
and limestone
constitute the primary building materials for the church. The interior was redesigned after a 1962 fire and recently restored for the Parish centennial in 2005. Words of welcome are engraved in three languages over the triple entrance doors- Welcome, Witamy and Bienvenidos.
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago
The Archdiocese of Chicago was established as a diocese in 1843 and as an Archdiocese in 1880. It serves more than 2.3 million Catholics in Cook and Lake counties in Northeastern Illinois, a geographic area of 1,411 square miles. The Archdiocese is divided into six vicariates and 31 deaneries...
located at 743 N. Armour St. in the East Village neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. It is a prime example of the so-called "Polish Cathedral style
Polish Cathedral style
The Polish Cathedral architectural style is a North American genre of Catholic church architecture found throughout the Great Lakes and Middle Atlantic regions as well as in parts of New England...
" of churches in both its opulence and grand scale.
History
Founded in 1905 as a PolishPoles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
parish, the church was one of a network of Polish churches within the old Polish Downtown
Polish Downtown (Chicago)
Polish Downtown was Chicago’s oldest and most prominent Polish settlement. Polish Downtown was the political, cultural and social capital of not only Poles in Chicago but Polish Americans throughout North America as well...
. The first school and church were in buildings bought from the St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church that had been built in 1867. Holy Innocents remained an ethnic Polish parish until 1975, when it was assigned territorial boundaries. The former school is now the home of Bishop Alfred Abramowicz Seminary. The parish retains its strong identification with Chicago Polonia while welcoming Hispanics and Catholics of other ethnic groups. Although there has been much recent gentrification in the neighborhood, the parish continues to minister in English, Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
and Spanish.
Architecture
The church was designed by the architectural firm of Worthmann and Steinbach who built many of the magnificent Polish Cathedrals in Chicago . Completed in 1912, the church is built in a Romanesque Revival style with ByzantineByzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
flourishes. Distinguishing features of the building include seven copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
domed roofs (one centrally located main dome
Dome
A dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
and six lesser dome
Dome
A dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
s), bell tower
Bell tower
A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
s on the west façade, and stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
windows imported from Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. Varied hues of red brick
Brick
A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...
masonry
Masonry
Masonry is the building of structures from individual units laid in and bound together by mortar; the term masonry can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are brick, stone, marble, granite, travertine, limestone; concrete block, glass block, stucco, and...
and limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
constitute the primary building materials for the church. The interior was redesigned after a 1962 fire and recently restored for the Parish centennial in 2005. Words of welcome are engraved in three languages over the triple entrance doors- Welcome, Witamy and Bienvenidos.
External links
See also
- Tadeusz ŻukotyńskiTadeusz ZukotynskiPolish count, professor, and painter Tadeusz Żukotyński was born in what is today the region of Podolia in Ukraine. One of Europe's foremost painters in religious subjects...
, Catholic fine art painter and mural artist - Sr. Maria Stanisia, Polish-American fine art painter and restoration artist
- Jozef MazurJozef MazurJozef C. Mazur was an Polish-American stained glass artist, painter and sculptor. His works can be found signed as Josef Mazur, Joseph Mazur, Joe Mazur, J. C. Mazur as well as a few others.-Life:...
, Polish-American painter and stainglass artist
- Polish Cathedral stylePolish Cathedral styleThe Polish Cathedral architectural style is a North American genre of Catholic church architecture found throughout the Great Lakes and Middle Atlantic regions as well as in parts of New England...
churches of Chicago - Polish Americans
- Poles in ChicagoPoles in ChicagoChicago Polonia, refers to both immigrant Poles and Americans of Polish heritage living in Chicago, Illinois. They are a part of worldwide Polonia, the proper term for the Polish Diaspora outside of Poland. Poles in Chicago have contributed to the economic, social and cultural well-being of Chicago...
- Polish Roman Catholic Union of AmericaPolish Roman Catholic Union of AmericaThe Polish Roman Catholic Union of America is the oldest Polish American organization in the United States. Its history spans notable periods in the development of the Polish American ethnic group, from the time of early settlement by immigrants from Poland through their development of ethnic...
- Roman Catholicism in PolandRoman Catholicism in PolandEver since Poland officially adopted Latin Christianity in 966, the Catholic Church has played an important religious, cultural and political role in the country....