St. Adalbert's in Chicago
Encyclopedia
St. Adalbert Church is a historic church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago
located in Chicago
, Illinois
.
It is a prime example of the so-called 'Polish Cathedral style
' of churches in both its opulence and grand scale. The church is located on 17th Street between Paulina Street and Ashland Ave in the Pilsen area of Chicago. St. Adalbert has served generations of Polish immigrants and their American-born children; at its peak, parish membership numbered 4,000 families with more than 2,000 children enrolled in the school. Today the church is an anchor for the Mexican immigrants that have made the Pilsen area their home.
and South sides now serves the many Mexicans of the Pilsen neighborhood and has masses in Polish language as well as Spanish. A shrine of the Mexican patroness Our Lady of Guadalupe
bears witness to the Mexican presence. The church itself is the gift of the Poles not just to the people of the surrounding area but to all of Chicago. It is truly a city treasure.
church with its twin towers and copper domes was modeled after St. Paul's Basilica
in Rome. It was completed at an estimated cost of $200,000-on the north side of 17th St., between Paulina street and Ashland Ave.
Twin 185-foot Renaissance-style towers with copper cupola
s complete the façade of this imposing buff-colored basilica-type edifice which rises above the smaller buildings of the old Pilsen neighborhood. One enters through a shallow portico
with eight massive grey-flecked, rose-colored polished granite
columns, from there to pass through a narrow vestibule with four large recessed fonts in its back wall, and finally to enter the immense main body where one finds the most magnificent marble
work to be found in any church in Chicago.
A stern large white-marble statue of the church's patron St. Adalbert
, the evangelizer of Poland and martyr, stares down from the massive and elaborate thirty-five ton Cararra marble altar whose ten spiral pillars are capped with a dome-shaped ciborium
. On the chancel
arch above the altar are inscribed the opening words of the Polish hymn Bogurodzica
which Adalbert himself is said to have composed. And in an F. X. Zettler window to the west, Adalbert again, in green vestments, stands preaching to the surly, slumped Prussia
n, an unwilling listener whose response would be to martyr Adalbert. Legend says that the King of Poland Bolesław I ransomed back Adalbert's body by paying its weight in gold.
The original balustered white-marble altar rail complements the white marble of the many-tiered altar
behind and above it and serves the additional aesthetic purpose of visually reinforcing the line made by the pilasters which demark the north wall. The altar rail also complements the original high, white marble pulpit
. Square and elaborately carved with large figures of the four evangelists on its corners and smaller figures of the six prophet
s on its sides, it rises west of the sanctuary
against one of the ponderous beige-and-grey marble pillars with gold capitals
that line the nave
on either side. The white- marble side altars have paintings of Our Lady
and St. Joseph respectively instead of the more customary statues. The original east transept
marble shrine
holding the Pietà
(once matched by a similar shrine in the west transept) is still intact.
The mural
on the upper portion of the north wall above the sanctuary portrays on the left the wedding of Queen Jadwiga of Poland and Prince Jagiello of Lithuania
and on the right the 1655 victory of Our Lady of Częstochowa when by the Virgin's intervention an army of 9,000 invading Swedes
failed to take a monastery
held by only 250 monks. The predominant muted orange-red tones of the mural are repeated in the present color of the ambulatory
wall and also in the ceiling coffer
s and panels of the clerestory
. Although these panels and coffers are painted in this solid color today, it is possible that they were originally intended for murals such as the large ones of St. Francis and St. Anthony
in the west transept and the others of various subjects that have been completed in the panels around the main lower body of the church.
The pew
s retain their period-authentic molasses-dark varnish
; both their finish and their classical broken-curve top ornamentation matches that of the original confessionals in the east transept
. On the south (or entrance) end of the church rises a spectacular two-story choir loft with curving ranges of organ pipes on either side and a rose window
of St. Cecilia in the center. The aisle floors are a handsome inlay of sections of red, black, and gray terrazzo
.
that attempts to match the pattern and colors of the surrounding tan and black terrazzo
floor.
The original nave
chandeliers are gone.
The original brass
communion rail is gone.
The west transept shrine has been truncated to accommodate a new baptistry.
A large polychrome rood
(crucifix) which may have originally hung in the sanctuary has been placed in the remaining portion of the west transept shrine to which has been added a false back to bring the surface out to meet the back of the crucifix
.
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago
The Archdiocese of Chicago was established as a diocese in 1843 and as an Archdiocese in 1880. It serves more than 2.3 million Catholics in Cook and Lake counties in Northeastern Illinois, a geographic area of 1,411 square miles. The Archdiocese is divided into six vicariates and 31 deaneries...
located in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
.
It is a prime example of the so-called 'Polish Cathedral style
Polish Cathedral style
The Polish Cathedral architectural style is a North American genre of Catholic church architecture found throughout the Great Lakes and Middle Atlantic regions as well as in parts of New England...
' of churches in both its opulence and grand scale. The church is located on 17th Street between Paulina Street and Ashland Ave in the Pilsen area of Chicago. St. Adalbert has served generations of Polish immigrants and their American-born children; at its peak, parish membership numbered 4,000 families with more than 2,000 children enrolled in the school. Today the church is an anchor for the Mexican immigrants that have made the Pilsen area their home.
History of Saint Adalbert's
St. Adalbert's parish has seen many changes in the surrounding area since it was founded in 1874 to serve the needs of Chicago's Poles. This mother church of all the later Polish parishes on the WestLower West Side, Chicago
Lower West Side located on the west side of Chicago, Illinois, is one of 77 well-defined Chicago community areas.-Government and infrastructure:The United States Postal Service operates the Pilsen Post Office at 1859 South Ashland Avenue....
and South sides now serves the many Mexicans of the Pilsen neighborhood and has masses in Polish language as well as Spanish. A shrine of the Mexican patroness Our Lady of Guadalupe
Our Lady of Guadalupe
Our Lady of Guadalupe , also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe is a celebrated Catholic icon of the Virgin Mary.According to tradition, on December 9, 1531 Juan Diego, a simple indigenous peasant, had a vision of a young woman while he was on a hill in the Tepeyac desert, near Mexico City. The lady...
bears witness to the Mexican presence. The church itself is the gift of the Poles not just to the people of the surrounding area but to all of Chicago. It is truly a city treasure.
Church design and decoration
Henry J. Schlacks designed St. Adalbert Church and the adjoining rectory at 1650 W. 17th Street. The Italian RenaissanceRenaissance architecture
Renaissance architecture is the architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 17th centuries in different regions of Europe, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of ancient Greek and Roman thought and material culture. Stylistically, Renaissance...
church with its twin towers and copper domes was modeled after St. Paul's Basilica
St. Paul's Basilica
St. Paul's Basilica is the oldest Roman Catholic congregation in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Corktown neighbourhood just east of downtown near the intersection of Queen and Parliament streets at 83 Power Street....
in Rome. It was completed at an estimated cost of $200,000-on the north side of 17th St., between Paulina street and Ashland Ave.
Twin 185-foot Renaissance-style towers with copper cupola
Cupola
In architecture, a cupola is a small, most-often dome-like, structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome....
s complete the façade of this imposing buff-colored basilica-type edifice which rises above the smaller buildings of the old Pilsen neighborhood. One enters through a shallow portico
Portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...
with eight massive grey-flecked, rose-colored polished granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
columns, from there to pass through a narrow vestibule with four large recessed fonts in its back wall, and finally to enter the immense main body where one finds the most magnificent marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
work to be found in any church in Chicago.
A stern large white-marble statue of the church's patron St. Adalbert
Adalbert of Prague
This article is about St Adalbert of Prague. For other uses, see Adalbert .Saint Adalbert, Czech: ; , , Czech Roman Catholic saint, a Bishop of Prague and a missionary, was martyred in his efforts to convert the Baltic Prussians. He evangelized Poles and Hungarians. St...
, the evangelizer of Poland and martyr, stares down from the massive and elaborate thirty-five ton Cararra marble altar whose ten spiral pillars are capped with a dome-shaped ciborium
Ciborium (architecture)
In ecclesiastical architecture, a ciborium is a canopy or covering supported by columns, freestanding in the sanctuary, that stands over and covers the altar in a basilica or other church. It may also be known by the more general term of baldachin, though ciborium is often considered more correct...
. On the chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
arch above the altar are inscribed the opening words of the Polish hymn Bogurodzica
Bogurodzica
Bogurodzica is the oldest Polish religious hymn. It was composed somewhere between the 10th and 13th centuries. The origin of the song is not clear....
which Adalbert himself is said to have composed. And in an F. X. Zettler window to the west, Adalbert again, in green vestments, stands preaching to the surly, slumped Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n, an unwilling listener whose response would be to martyr Adalbert. Legend says that the King of Poland Bolesław I ransomed back Adalbert's body by paying its weight in gold.
The original balustered white-marble altar rail complements the white marble of the many-tiered altar
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
behind and above it and serves the additional aesthetic purpose of visually reinforcing the line made by the pilasters which demark the north wall. The altar rail also complements the original high, white marble pulpit
Pulpit
Pulpit is a speakers' stand in a church. In many Christian churches, there are two speakers' stands at the front of the church. Typically, the one on the left is called the pulpit...
. Square and elaborately carved with large figures of the four evangelists on its corners and smaller figures of the six prophet
Prophet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
s on its sides, it rises west of the sanctuary
Sanctuary
A sanctuary is any place of safety. They may be categorized into human and non-human .- Religious sanctuary :A religious sanctuary can be a sacred place , or a consecrated area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar.- Sanctuary as a sacred place :#Sanctuary as a sacred place:#:In...
against one of the ponderous beige-and-grey marble pillars with gold capitals
Capital (architecture)
In architecture the capital forms the topmost member of a column . It mediates between the column and the load thrusting down upon it, broadening the area of the column's supporting surface...
that line the nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
on either side. The white- marble side altars have paintings of Our Lady
Blessed Virgin Mary (Roman Catholic)
Roman Catholic veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary is based on Holy Scripture: In the fullness of time, God sent his son, born of a virgin. The mystery of the incarnation of the Son of God through Mary thus signifies her honour as Mother of God...
and St. Joseph respectively instead of the more customary statues. The original east transept
Transept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
marble shrine
Shrine
A shrine is a holy or sacred place, which is dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon or similar figure of awe and respect, at which they are venerated or worshipped. Shrines often contain idols, relics, or other such objects associated with the figure being venerated....
holding the Pietà
Pietà
The Pietà is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus, most often found in sculpture. As such, it is a particular form of the Lamentation of Christ, a scene from the Passion of Christ found in cycles of the Life of Christ...
(once matched by a similar shrine in the west transept) is still intact.
The mural
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
on the upper portion of the north wall above the sanctuary portrays on the left the wedding of Queen Jadwiga of Poland and Prince Jagiello of Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
and on the right the 1655 victory of Our Lady of Częstochowa when by the Virgin's intervention an army of 9,000 invading Swedes
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
failed to take a monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
held by only 250 monks. The predominant muted orange-red tones of the mural are repeated in the present color of the ambulatory
Ambulatory
The ambulatory is the covered passage around a cloister. The term is sometimes applied to the procession way around the east end of a cathedral or large church and behind the high altar....
wall and also in the ceiling coffer
Coffer
A coffer in architecture, is a sunken panel in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault...
s and panels of the clerestory
Clerestory
Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...
. Although these panels and coffers are painted in this solid color today, it is possible that they were originally intended for murals such as the large ones of St. Francis and St. Anthony
Anthony the Great
Anthony the Great or Antony the Great , , also known as Saint Anthony, Anthony the Abbot, Anthony of Egypt, Anthony of the Desert, Anthony the Anchorite, Abba Antonius , and Father of All Monks, was a Christian saint from Egypt, a prominent leader among the Desert Fathers...
in the west transept and the others of various subjects that have been completed in the panels around the main lower body of the church.
The pew
Pew
A pew is a long bench seat or enclosed box used for seating members of a congregation or choir in a church, or sometimes in a courtroom.-Overview:Churches were not commonly furnished with permanent pews before the Protestant Reformation...
s retain their period-authentic molasses-dark varnish
Varnish
Varnish is a transparent, hard, protective finish or film primarily used in wood finishing but also for other materials. Varnish is traditionally a combination of a drying oil, a resin, and a thinner or solvent. Varnish finishes are usually glossy but may be designed to produce satin or semi-gloss...
; both their finish and their classical broken-curve top ornamentation matches that of the original confessionals in the east transept
Transept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
. On the south (or entrance) end of the church rises a spectacular two-story choir loft with curving ranges of organ pipes on either side and a rose window
Rose window
A Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in churches of the Gothic architectural style and being divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery...
of St. Cecilia in the center. The aisle floors are a handsome inlay of sections of red, black, and gray terrazzo
Terrazzo
Terrazzo is a composite material poured in place or precast, which is used for floor and wall treatments. It consists of marble, quartz, granite, glass or other suitable chips, sprinkled or unsprinkled, and poured with a binder that is cementitious, chemical or a combination of both...
.
Alterations and losses
Several rows of pews have been removed from the back, truncating Schlacks's long processional aisle. The floor where the pews were removed has been patched with vinyl tileTile
A tile is a manufactured piece of hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, or even glass. Tiles are generally used for covering roofs, floors, walls, showers, or other objects such as tabletops...
that attempts to match the pattern and colors of the surrounding tan and black terrazzo
Terrazzo
Terrazzo is a composite material poured in place or precast, which is used for floor and wall treatments. It consists of marble, quartz, granite, glass or other suitable chips, sprinkled or unsprinkled, and poured with a binder that is cementitious, chemical or a combination of both...
floor.
The original nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
chandeliers are gone.
The original brass
Brass
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...
communion rail is gone.
The west transept shrine has been truncated to accommodate a new baptistry.
A large polychrome rood
Rood
A rood is a cross or crucifix, especially a large one in a church; a large sculpture or sometimes painting of the crucifixion of Jesus.Rood is an archaic word for pole, from Old English rōd "pole", specifically "cross", from Proto-Germanic *rodo, cognate to Old Saxon rōda, Old High German ruoda...
(crucifix) which may have originally hung in the sanctuary has been placed in the remaining portion of the west transept shrine to which has been added a false back to bring the surface out to meet the back of the crucifix
Crucifix
A crucifix is an independent image of Jesus on the cross with a representation of Jesus' body, referred to in English as the corpus , as distinct from a cross with no body....
.
External links
See also
- Polish American Catholic Heritage Committee
- Polish Cathedral stylePolish Cathedral styleThe Polish Cathedral architectural style is a North American genre of Catholic church architecture found throughout the Great Lakes and Middle Atlantic regions as well as in parts of New England...
churches of Chicago - Polish Americans
- Poles in ChicagoPoles in ChicagoChicago Polonia, refers to both immigrant Poles and Americans of Polish heritage living in Chicago, Illinois. They are a part of worldwide Polonia, the proper term for the Polish Diaspora outside of Poland. Poles in Chicago have contributed to the economic, social and cultural well-being of Chicago...
- Sr. Mary Stanisia
- Tadeusz ŻukotyńskiTadeusz ZukotynskiPolish count, professor, and painter Tadeusz Żukotyński was born in what is today the region of Podolia in Ukraine. One of Europe's foremost painters in religious subjects...
- Roman Catholicism in PolandRoman Catholicism in PolandEver since Poland officially adopted Latin Christianity in 966, the Catholic Church has played an important religious, cultural and political role in the country....