St. Josaphat ( pl, Kościół Świętego Jozafata and in Kashubian as ''Kòscół Swiãtégò Jozafata'') 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 at 2311 North Southport Avenue 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 ...

. It is a prime example of the so-called ' Polish Cathedral style' of church in both its opulence and grand scale. St. Josaphat's two massive Romanesque belltowers are a hallmark view of the

Lincoln Park Lincoln Park is a park along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Named after US President Abraham Lincoln, it is the city's largest public park and stretches for seven miles (11 km) from Grand Avenue (500 N), on the south, ...

skyline.

History of Saint Josaphat's Parish

The congregation dates back to 1882, when a 13-member committee of Chicago's Kashubian Polish community formally approached the Resurrectionist Father

Vincent Barzynski Vincent ( la, Vincentius) is a male given name derived from the Roman name Vincentius, which is derived from the Latin word (''to conquer''). People with the given name Artists *Vincent Apap (1909–2003), Maltese sculptor *Vincent van Gogh ...

, then Chicago's preeminent Polish priest, for his assistance in establishing a Kashubian parish. Prior to this most of the Kashubian families had been attending Mass at Saint Michael's Parish, a "German" parish which they preferred to Father Barzynski's own "Polish" parish of Saint Stanislaus Kostka. The current combination church-school building, an imposing brick edifice, was dedicated on May 22, 1884. The parish attracted Polish settlement in this area of the

neighborhood of Chicago, many of them also of Kashubian descent, as part of what is called the

Kashubian diaspora The Kashubian diaspora resulted from the emigration of Kashubians mainly in two waves occurring in the second half of the 19th century. The majority of Kashubian emigrants settled in the United States; others emigrated to Canada and Brazil. An onlin ...

. In 1902, Saint Josaphat claimed about 5,000 parishioners. This concentration led to the neighborhood being referred to as ''Kaszubowo'' by local Poles. By 1980, roughly half of Saint Josaphat's 450 families self-identified as

Polish American 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 ...

, with 30% self-identifying as

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 ...

. In the twenty-first century, Saint Josaphat's now serves an overwhelmingly young, white, urban professional congregation in a newly prosperous, gentrified neighborhood. The renovated church, with its traditional Catholic architecture, is popular for weddings, with over 65 a year.

Architecture

The Romanesque church, built at a cost of $125,000 in 1902, was designed by

William J. Brinkmann William J. Brinkmann (12 August 1871 – 24 February 1911, Chicago), sometimes spelled Brinkman, was an architect known for his work designing Chicago area churches. A son of German immigrants, he was born and raised in Chicago and received his arc ...

, who also drew plans for the

Neogothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

masterpiece of St. Michael the Archangel in

South Chicago South Chicago, formerly known as Ainsworth, is one of the 77 community areas of Chicago, Illinois. This chevron-shaped community is one of Chicago's 16 lakefront neighborhoods near the southern rim of Lake Michigan 10 miles south of downtown. ...

Church in architecture books

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External links

Archdiocese of Chicago

PGSA - St. Josaphat Church History

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Josaphat Roman Catholic Church (Chicago) Josaphats Religious organizations established in 1884 Roman Catholic churches completed in 1902 Kashubian-American history Josaphats Polish Cathedral style architecture National parishes Polish-American Roman Catholic parishes in the United States 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States 1884 establishments in Illinois

History of Saint Josaphat's Parish

Architecture

See also

Church in architecture books

External links

References