HCIHM History
Untitled Document
In 1890 there were swamps and ponds of water in the area where Holy
Cross parish stands today. That is why this section of the city was
called "Town of Lake." It is not surprising that the Lithuanians, who
love lakes and streams, began to colonize there.
The Lithuanian people in the district were unorganized in 1890, but by
February 6, 1902, they had formed a charitable organization under the
title of St. Vincent Ferrer. A committee of Lithuanian people was
appointed and they approached Archbishop James Edward Quigley with a
request for permission to found a Lithuanian parish in Town of Lake.
The Archbishop agreed, asking for at least sixty Lithuanian families on
whose support the parish could depend.
On February 1, 1904, ten lots were purchased on 46 street between
Hermitage and Wood Streets. The land was purchased by the Society of
St. Vincent Ferrer, who also gave $250 fromits treasury. And the rest
of the money, $8,000, was a partial loan made by the American Trust and
Savings Bank to the parishioners of the new parish.
June 16, 1904, Rev. Alexander Skrypko came to Chicago and began the
organization of the new Lithuanian parish in Town of Lake. He was
appointed pastor by Archbishop Quigley two weeks later.
Over time the church and its parishioners grew, so the temporary church
could no longer accommodate the people. October 26, 1913, Archbishop
Quigley laid the cornerstone of the new church, which was one of the
most beautiful Lithuanian churches in Chicago.
For the better part of the 20th century Holy Cross remained a
Lithuanian parish, but a couple of blocks away, a Hispanic community
was steadily building. Located on Ashland and 45th, Immaculate Heart of
Mary Church was founded through different circumstances.
During the late 1930s, the Mexican population was dramatically
increasing. So much that mass was being performed on store front
"chapels." Claretian priests from St. Franics of Assisi Church were
travelling to the neighborhood on Sundays for mass. The priests saw the
need for a new church which would better suit the growing Mexican
population. In 1941 a former butcher shop was rented and outfitted as
Our Lay of Guadalupe chapel. For the next three years Rev. Aloysius
Dot, CMF, served the Mexican community. Through drives he hoped to
collect enough funds for the purchase of permanent facilities.
On March 5, 1944, Our Lady of Guadalupe was relocated to 45th and
Ashland, just a couple of blocks away from its original location. The
"church" was moved to four store front locations which were purchased
by Rev. James F. Tort, CMF, Rev. Joachin DePrada, CMF, and the
Archdiocesan Chancery Office.
Archbishop Samuel A. Stritch encouraged Father Tort to enlarge the
chapel even if it meant $20,000 worth of renovations. Fr. Tort obliged
and on December 30, 1945, Archbishop Stritch dedicated the chapel.
Shortly thereafter it was renamed to Immaculate Heart of Mary. From
August 1, 1947 on, daliy mass was celebrated in the chapel, with Rev.
Raymond Sunye, CMF, as pastor.
The population of Mexicans had still shown no signs of slowing down.
With the growing population of the neighborhood, Immaculate Heart of
Mary was not big enough to accommodate all of the people.
Holy Cross, meanwhile, was going through its own changes. With the turn
of the 1970s, the Mexican population in Back of the Yards Community was
no longer the minority. The parish had to accommodate all of its
parishoners, supplying the Hispanics with a Spanish mass.
