St. Joseph's ( pl, Kościół Świętego Józefa) is a historic church of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago The Archdiocese of Chicago ( la, Archidiœcesis Chicagiensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in Northeastern Illinois, in the United States. It was established as a diocese in 1843 and ...

located in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

at 4821 South Hermitage Avenue. Founded in 1887 with the current church building dating to 1914, Saint Joseph's is a prime example of the Polish Cathedral style of churches in both its opulence and grand scale. Along with St. John of God and Holy Cross, it is one of three monumental religious edifices that dominates the skyline of the

Back of the Yards New City is one of Chicago's 77 official community areas, located on the southwest side of the city in the South Side district. It contains the neighborhoods of Canaryville and Back of the Yards. The area was home to the famous Union Stock Ya ...

neighborhood. The parish survived archdiocesan budget cuts in 1990, and, in 2021, was merged with several local churches into a single parish. Today, St. Joseph serves a multicultural community.

History

Julius Frank Maria und Josef mit dem Jesusknaben

Initially a mission of St. Mary of Perpetual Help, St. Joseph's was organized in 1887 as the first

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

parish in the

. Its patron saint proved very appropriate as the parish long served a congregation of

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

workers near the

Union Stockyards The Union Stock Yard & Transit Co., or The Yards, was the meatpacking district in Chicago for more than a century, starting in 1865. The district was operated by a group of railroad companies that acquired marshland and turned it into a central ...

. In the beginning of the 20th century, the Polish population in the Back of the Yards increased so greatly that two other Polish parishes were formed from St. Joseph's parish—St. John of God, in 1906, and Sacred Heart, in 1910. Like most of the Poles who settled in Chicago's Southwest Side, many of the first parishioners of St. Joseph's were

Gorals The Gorals ( pl, Górale; Goral dialect: ''Górole''; sk, Gorali; Cieszyn Silesia dialect, Cieszyn Silesian: ''Gorole''), also known as the Highlanders (in Poland as the Polish Highlanders) are an indigenous ethnographic or ethnic group primar ...

, or Polish Highlanders, from the

Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretches ...

. In 1914, the current church building was officially dedicated. In the early 1950s, the church was redecorated by artist John A. Mallin. Although the Union Stockyards, a major employer in the area, closed in the early 1970s and some Polish

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

subsequently left Back of the Yards, St. Joseph's still celebrates mass in

. In 1990, St. Joseph was one of four Back of the Yards parishes to survive diocesan budget cuts. The others - Sacred Heart of Jesus at 4600 South Honore Street, St. Rose of Lima Church at 1456 West 48th Street, Sts. Cyril and Methodius at 5009 South Hermitage, and St. Augustine Church at 5045 South Laflin, closed that year. In 1996, restoration works at St. Joseph's were initiated. The following year, the status of shrine was given to St. Joseph Church. In 1998, the Shrine of Saint Joseph, Patron of Family Life, was officially dedicated. In 2000, St. Joseph's restoration was completed, and on June 4 of that year, the Shrine of Saint Joseph was rededicated. St. Joseph celebrated its 125th anniversary with a Mass and celebration on September 1, 2012. In 2015, the parish received a relic of

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

, recognised as a saint by the Catholic Church. For many years, a dirt lot occupied the spot where a convent once stood. In August 2015, when the new St. Joseph Plaza, adorned with a paver stone rosary, was inaugurated in its place. Two years later, on March 19, 2017, the parish received a relic of

Saint Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers of ...

. In October 2017, the parish celebrated its 130th anniversary. To commemorate the event, a procession involving three religious images of the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

Our Lady of Zapopan Our or OUR may refer to: * The possessive form of " we" * Our (river), in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany * Our, Belgium, a village in Belgium * Our, Jura, a commune in France * Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), a government utility regulato ...

, Our Lady of Talpa, and

Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos (English: Our Lady of Saint John of the Lakes) is a Roman Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary venerated by Mexican and Texan faithful. The original image is a popular focus for pilgrims and is located in t ...

- was held. Other events, including a peace walk and an outdoor mass, were held to mark the occasion. On February 10, 2019, the formal installation mass for the church's current

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

was held. In 2021, the church was united with two nearby parishes, St. Michael and Holy Cross -

Immaculate Heart of Mary The Immaculate Heart of Mary () is a Roman Catholic devotional name used to refer to the Catholic view of the interior life of Mary, mother of Jesus, her joys and sorrows, her virtues and hidden perfections, and, above all, her virginal love ...

, into Holy Cross and SS. Mary, Joseph, and Michael Parish as part of an archdiocesan Renew My Church planning process.

St. Joseph's today

In 2012, Saint Joseph's parishioners were 75%

Mexican-American Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...

, with the remaining 25% consisting of Americans,

Polish-Americans Polish Americans ( pl, Polonia amerykańska) are Americans who either have total or partial Polish ancestry, or are citizens of the Republic of Poland. There are an estimated 9.15 million self-identified Polish Americans, representing about 2.83 ...

, and

African-Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

. St. Joseph's offers mass every day of the week, with services in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

Mass Schedule

This is a schedule listing the services held at St. Joseph Church as of Summer 2020. All times listed are local.

Architecture

The initial church structure is now Saint John Paul II Hall. The current

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

church was designed by

Joseph Molitor Joseph Molitor (14 February 1874 – 26 August 1917) was a Czechs, Bohemian-born architect with a noteworthy legacy in church architecture. Early life Molitor was born Josef Molitor on 14 February 1874, the Catholic Church, Catholic feast day ...

in 1914 with a seating capacity of 1,200. Molitor also created the plans for two neighboring

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

churches in the

neighborhood of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

founded by

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...

an immigrants— Holy Cross Church which served a Lithuanian congregation and the now-closed Sts. Cyril and Methodius Church, constructed by a

Bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

congregation.

St. Joseph's in architecture books

Books on Chicago architecture

* *

Books on church architecture

* * * * *

References

External links

Archdiocese of Chicago

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Joseph Roman Catholic Church (Chicago) Religious organizations established in 1887 Roman Catholic churches completed in 1914 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States JosephsChurch NewCity JosephsChurch NewCity Polish Cathedral style architecture 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States 1887 establishments in Illinois