What is the history St Mary's of the Angels on Cortland and Hermitage?

How St. Mary's Of the Angels began... St Mary's rises seventeen stories above the streets of Hermitage and Cortland. Its great lighted dome has been visible to thousands of motorists who drive by daily on the Kennedy Expressway. Under the dome, this masterpiece of Roman Renaissance architecture is an invitation to prayer and recollection.

Opened in 1920 as the "Polish Basilica in Chicago," Saint Mary of the Angels church was closed and slated for demolition in 1988 due to unsafe conditions. At the request of the late Cardinal Bernardin, then Archbishop of Chicago, the priests of the Prelature of Opus Dei assumed responsibility for the parish in 1991. Church restoration started in 1991 with major repairs of the dome, the roofs and the stained-glass windows.

Repairs continued in 1997 with the church interior . As the year 1999 drew to a close, marking the 100th anniversary of the Parish, the church's interior decoration has been fully restored, new lighting, new doors and a new sound system have been installed. The 26 roof angels, fully rebuilt, are all present and accounted for, gleaming cheerfully from Saint Mary's roof tops.

I remember as a child, growing up on Cortland and Wolcott. All I could ever remember was the Church called St. Mary's as home. I did my first communion there.

Located in the heart of Bucktown and open from dawn to dusk, seven days a week, Saint Mary of the Angels constitutes a significant evangelizing presence in our community: Sunday Masses are celebrated in English, Polish and Spanish. Every week, hundreds of persons come here to receive the sacrament of Penance. On Thursdays, the Blessed Sacrament is exposed for adoration throughout the day.

The parish school, the Religious Education Program, the classes of Christian Formation and other activities for adults, bring the message of the Gospel to a growing number of believers every year. I grew up for many years in the Bucktown community and this church will always be part of that.

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