STUNNING 125- YEAR-OLD CATHOLIC CHURCH FACES THE WRECKING BALL

• Our Lady of Lourdes Church has hosted Catholics for over a century in Chicago
• The towering Spanish Renaissance style church could be demolished soon
• Advocates and churchgoers are advocating it be turned into a landmark instead 

A historic Catholic church faces imminent demolition if its parishioners aren't able to raise $2 million for repairs and maintenance. 

Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Chicago has been around for 125 years, and acted as the primary church for three surrounding neighborhoods of Ashland Avenue. 

The church held its first mass in October 1892 and was physically moved in 1929.  

It took the efforts of 50 men and their horses to pry the 10,000 ton church from its foundation, move it across the street and rotate it 90 degrees. According to a Chicago Ancestry site, the church was moved at a 'foot a minute.'

'It is a magnificent, historically and architecturally significant church,' said church preservation advocate Julie Sawacki on the steps leading to the church's entrance. 'Imagine tearing something so significant down.'

The Archdiocese of Chicago told CBS News that attendance at the church's Sunday masses have steadily declined. 

The church simultaneously needs $2 million worth of repairs and without the community's support, its likely it will be demolished. 

There are a group of parishioners, including Hilda Correa, who are desperately trying to save the famed religious landmark. Correa and others say the church attracts tourists, both Christian and non-Christian.

Correa also alluded to the fact that times are hard. Although she didn't specify what she was talking about - perhaps the years-long pandemic or stubborn inflation - Correa says the church is a place of comfort for those who come to visit.

'The religious aspect is really what's really touching us because losing such a valuable place that people can come especially in these days...'

Our Lady of Lourdes will be holding its final service on May 19, but Preservation Chicago, a non-profit organization dedicated to saving city landmarks, plans to revive the church and make it into a holy shrine.

'The effort here will probably be long and labored, perhaps. There's a lot of different moving parts and a lot of different factors,' said Preservation Chicago Executive Director Ward Miller. 

There is a Change.org petition with 1,107 signatures to preserve the church as a historical landmark rather than knocking it down. The goal is to reach 1,500 signatures. 

Read more

2024-05-09T14:38:11Z dg43tfdfdgfd