
Thousands of Catholics of Polish descent living in the Archdiocese of Chicago mourned the loss of Poland’s president, his wife and 94 others who died in a tragic plain crash near Smolensk, Russia, April 10. The loss was keenly felt in Chicago, which is thought to have the highest population of people of Polish descent outside of Poland. Here is a look at the local remembrances held in honor of the victims.
More than 300 people from the Archdiocese of Chicago traveled to the nation’s capital for the annual march while Catholics here kept vigil and prayed for an end to legalized abortion. These photos chronicle the local and national pro-life events.
More than 7,000 Catholics gathered to learn, worship and celebrate their faith Oct. 16-17 at Catholic Festival of Faith at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont. The Festival of Faith, the third event of its kind in the Archdiocese of Chicago, included workshops and presentations for young people, families, Catholic school teachers and catechists and young adults, as well as sessions in Spanish and Polish.
Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago faces roof repairs once again, this time from a three-alarm fire that broke out in the church attic in the morning hours of Feb. 4. Almost a year ago to the day, roof problems eventually forced the main building to close for several months for repairs. This gallery shows the problems at the prominent cathedral over the last year culminating with the recent fire.
Debris covered charred desks in this photo of a classroom in Our Lady of the Angels School. The Dec.1, 1958, fire at school killed 92 students and three BVM teaching sisters. Remembrance services were held throughout the archdiocese the weekend of Nov. 30 to mark the 50th anniversary of the tragic fire. (Catholic New World file photo)
At the end of August, more than 90,000 elementary and secondary students returned to schools in the Archdiocese of Chicago. We captured a few moments from those exciting first days of school for Catholic New World readers.
Our Lady of Częstochowa is a beloved image of Mary revered by Polish Catholics. St. Hyacinth Basilica hosted a coronation of that parish’s icon during a Mass and blessing ceremony with Cardinal George on Aug. 31. The gold crowns, which were affixed to the painted image, were fashioned from jewelry donated by parishioners. Polish Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz also blessed the new crowns during a recent pastoral visit to Chicago.
On the weekend of June 28 and 29, members of Holy Rosary Parish on the far South Side closed their church's doors and became a part of the nearby St. Anthony Parish community, which greeted them with open arms and dancing in the streets. Following are photos of the transition.
Polish Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz, archbishop of Krakow, spent three days making pastoral visits to Chicago’s Poles June 27-29. As a friend and long-time personal secretary to their beloved Pope John Paul II, Cardinal Dziwisz came to Chicago as a guest of Cardinal Francis George and Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Paprocki, the liaison to Polish people in Chicago.
On May 31, St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish unveiled its nine foot, hand-carved and painted iconic monstrance of Our Lady of the Sign, Ark of Mercy during a Mass on the feast of the Visitation. Cardinal George con-celebrated the Mass and blessed the new monstrance, which is believed to be the largest in the world. The monstrance will be the focal point of the future Sanctuary of Divine Mercy in the Archdiocese of Chicago.
Parishioners of St. Ferdinand Parish, 5900 W. Barry, marked the annual Feast of Corpus Christi with a procession through the parish neighborhood on May 25. Many European and Hispanic cultures customarily honor this feast with public eucharistic processions like this one.
On a sunny Chicago day in a church filled with many smiles, Cardinal George ordained 11 men to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Chicago. The May 17 ordinations took place at St. Juliana Church, 7201 N. Oketo, instead of Holy Name Cathedral, which is closed for repairs. The graduates of the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary are a diverse group, with five from Poland, two from Tanzania, two from Mexico, one from Colombia and one from Ecuador.
More than 10,000 Catholics from Chicago, around Illinois and surrounding states, gathered in the University of Illinois-Chicago Pavilion on April 26 for the annual Hispanic Charismatic Renewal Conference. (The Charismatic Renewal is a lay ecclesial movement within the church that emphasizes gifts of the Holy Sprit and often involves praise and worship.) " It was beautiful, " said Norma Ibarra of the day. " The conference is always a point of gathering among us as Catholics and is something that transforms us and fills us with hope to carry on. "
During Pope Benedict XVI's first visit to the United States in April, Catholic New World staff photographer Karen Callaway was asked to be among a small group of photographers hired by Catholic News Service to photograph the pontiff. She had privileged access to our Holy Father. Here we take you through the moments she captured with Pope Benedict in prayer at the National Shrine of the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception and during the papal Mass at Washington Nationals Park on April 17.