There is something different about a Catholic church. Raised in the Catholic faith, I paid no attention to the buildings. In hindsight, I can see and feel it. My daughter-in-law said the same thing on her first visit. She did not know what exactly, but the feeling never left her. Three years later, she asked me how she could become Catholic.
My first church was St. Mary’s in Rutherford, N. J. Every town had a Catholic church. Larger towns and cities had several. St. Mary’s was a typical brick two-story church with Stations of the Cross around the room, tall ceilings, and a predominant altar with an altar rail. My first communion was in 1966. I received Jesus in the Holy Eucharist on my tongue, kneeling at that altar rail. I was dressed, as were other girls, in a white dress and white veil.
In the back of the church was the wood confessional “closets” with three doors. The center one was for the priest, and the two on either side were for penitents. They had green and red lights over the door, so you knew when they were occupied. St. Mary’s also had a Catholic school next door.
I did not attend the Catholic school; my older brother and sister did. When I was still preschool-aged, my mother brought me along when she volunteered in the lunchroom. I remember descending steep concrete steps leading down to the basement. I remember the smell of that basement. Musty with the smell of old milk. A smell I recognized almost 20 years later at the Pet Dairy Company in Columbia, S.C., where I mowed the 2-acre lawn while working for a landscaping company.
I remember the smell at St. Mary’s church; it was much nicer. I did not know what it was but later discovered they all smelled the same. It was years of burning beeswax candles and incense. People talk about Catholic Churches having the “smells and bells.” The bell’s part is when an altar boy rings a group of brass bells at the start of the consecration. This is literally to get your attention, to be reverent about what is about to take place. Then again, during the actual consecration of the hosts (bread), which becomes the Body of Christ. It is also rung shortly after when the wine is consecrated and becomes the Blood of Christ.
Thousands of Masses are said in the life of a church because Mass is said daily. It is truly a Holy place because Jesus lives there in every tabernacle, and it is where we get to receive him, if properly disposed. Sadly, because of the drop in attendance, some of the churches in large cities where the ethnic and religious population has changed are being closed.
Growth, Change, and Vatican II
Catholic churches across the country were often built by the immigrants who came to America. The late 1800’s and early 1900’s saw huge growth in Catholic Churches. Though not wealthy, they gave what they could and often added their talents in carpentry, stone masonry, carving, and glasswork. While many churches had mixed ethnic groups, in a larger town, you could have a Polish church, an Italian Church, a German church, and an Irish church. These communities changed over the decades. Many parishioners moved to more suburban areas. Other non-Catholics moved in.
Between the exodus to the suburbs and the decline of Church attendance, the parish numbers dropped. In the 1960’s, the Catholic church leaders (Bishops and Cardinals) held conferences to discuss reforms that they hoped would bring in more people and bring the church “into the 20th century”. They met over a couple of years. This was known as Vatican 2. They also invited leaders from other religions to get their input. I suppose the idea was to be more ecumenical.
Ironically, the Church’s attendance dropped off even more in subsequent years. Many priests and religious left the church. They did not agree with changes to the Mass. Latin was no longer the main language of the Mass. Another obvious change for anyone attending was the priest’s position. Instead of facing the altar during consecration, he now faced the people. Many of the churches went overboard. They often missed the intent, so what was actually written in the Vatican 2 documents was misconstrued. Whether this was deliberate or not is still being debated.
The push back from Vatican 2 continues to this day and is a cause of division between traditional and progressive Catholics. This is a huge topic and not the point of this article, but perhaps the point of another.
Today, churches in big cities are closing at an alarming rate. The bishops have the job of administrators and deciding which churches can no longer sustain themselves and which ones may need to be consolidated with another parish. This is why it is important to have orthodox leaders who will uphold the church’s teachings so that church politics does not enter the discussion.
The Battle Over Our Lady of Victory
A story I recently read in Life Site News was that an Islamic group was trying to raise money in Chicago to buy a Catholic church that had closed. It is more than an insult. Some church buildings have been turned into restaurants and other uses, which are bad enough, but to have Islam inhabit the buildings that once housed Jesus is akin to blasphemy. Muslims do not believe in the same God as Christians do. It is just a fact. They deny Jesus Christ. If you follow Sharia law, the only good Christian is a dead one.
Ironically, the church is named Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church. Ironic because the title ‘Our Lady of Victory,’ was given to Mary after the battle of Lepanto in 1521, when the outnumbered Christian fleets won against the larger Turkish fleets, by praying the rosary as the Pope requested. The Muslim invaders had hoped to overtake the region, but instead were pushed back.
The Chicago Catholic community is not happy. In 2023, The Chicago Sun-Times reported that, even though the church and school closed in 2021, supporters had raised money to keep the school going, but it was sold. The bishop decreed that they would deconsecrate the Church building so it would be allowed for secular use to sell. Parishioners appealed to the Vatican, which sided with them not to deconsecrate. But it appears the archdiocese has since been given the go-ahead to deconsecrate it and place it on the market.
The ICCI (Islamic Community Center of Illinois) is trying to raise millions to buy the church to use it for a high school. (They already own another prior church for elementary school children.) No more information is available on their plans for the church. The Archdiocese of Chicago is not discussing the sale. At this point, it is all about the money.
Our Lady of Victory was built in 1906. It had a long history of community support and expansion. The community was made up of Irish, Polish, and German immigrants. It closed in 2021, and the parish was merged with two other churches, St. Pascal and St. Bartholomew, as part of the archdiocese’s “Renew My Church” program. It was renamed “Our Lady of the Rosary parish,” though the attendees are at the St. Pascal church location. Students who were educated at OLV received a solid, well-rounded education in all subjects, including religion. Mass attendance was daily or weekly, depending on the year you attended.
The church is grand in scale. The architectural style is Spanish Mission Revival. Inside, it has a huge, vaulted barrel ceiling with massive wood beams over three stories tall. The wood arches have carved angels, and the ceiling has decorative wood strips with an inlaid pattern. The side of the church has large arched stained-glass windows depicting the life of Jesus and Mary. The doorways are also arched, with ornate carvings on the wood and stone inside and out. In the back of the church is the choir loft with a massive pipe organ.
The phrase “they just don’t build them like this anymore” applies to this church. Those wishing to preserve the church and its heritage are also exploring preservation through a historical preservation group in the city.
It would be a shame to lose this neighborhood icon. It would be a near sacrilege to have Muslims take it over. Unfortunately, it is not the first, and as the Muslim population grows in this country, it will not be the last.
