St. Hedwig's in Chicago

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St. Hedwig's in Chicago, referred to in Polish as Kościół Świętej Jadwigi 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. Along with St. Hyacinth Basilica, St. Mary of the Angels, and Holy Trinity it is one of the many monumental Polish churches visible from the Kennedy Expressway.

1 History
2 Architecture
3 St. Hedwig's in architecture books
4 See also
5 External links
6 References

[edit] History

Founded in 1888 by the Resurrectionist Order who administered St. Stanislaus Kostka, the first Polish parish in Chicago. In the 1890s a group of parishioners who resented the dominance of the Resurrectionists culminating in the so-called “Pepper Riots”, where a crowd of 3,000 protesters broke into the foyer and assaulted the priests. When the police intervened, the protesters threw red pepper into their eyes. The end result was that shots were fired and dozens were injured, including one policeman who was struck by a hammer. The disgruntled anti-Resurrectionists broke off from the parish to form an independent church, which became All Saints Cathedral of the Polish National Catholic Church. St.Hedwig's is still administered by the Resurrectionists, though it now has a large Latino population. The surrounding neighborhood of Logan Square has in recent years become newly prosperous and gentrified. Mass is now celebrated in English, Polish and Spanish.

A basement fire broke out on April 9, 2008, burning a 15 foot by 3 feet hole underneath the altar, leaving no injuries,^[1] but destroying the original holy statue of Our Lady of Manaoag brought to Chicago 17 years earlier.^[2]

[edit] Architecture

The church building was completed at a cost of $160,000 in 1901 and designed by Adolphus Druiding who also drew up architectural plans for St. John Cantius. Like many of Chicago's Polish Cathedrals, its Renaissance style recalls the glory days of the Polish Commonwealth in the 15th and 16th centuries. The interior of St. Hedwig's features a series of paintings by Thaddeus von Zukotynski as well as the work of John A. Mallin done for the Parish Jubilee in 1938. The aedicula above the entry is echoed by a pedimented reredos behind the altar. Made of brick and Bedford limestone it has a seating capacity of 1500. Other artistic treasures in the church include the stained glass windows imported from Bavaria.

The church houses a shrine to Our Lady of Manaoag in one of its side altars. Unfortunately, a fire from the basement burned a 15 feet by 3 feet hole beneath the altar in April of 2008^[3], destroying the original figurine of Our Lady of Manaoag, first brought to Chicago 17 years ago^[4]. Devotees were thankful that however a second figure of Our Lady of Manaoag was miraculously spared.

[edit] St. Hedwig's in architecture books

St. Hedwig's is featured in a number of books on Chicago architecture, most notably "The AIA Guide to Chicago" by Alice Sinkevitch (Harvest Books 2004). St. Hedwig's is also in a number of books devoted to church architecture, among them "Heavenly City: The Architectural Tradition of Catholic Chicago" by Denis R. McNamara (Liturgy Training Publications 2005), "Chicago Churches: A Photographic Essay" by Elizabeth Johnson (Uppercase Books Inc, 1999), "Chicago Churches and Synagogues: An Architectural Pilgrimage" by George A. Lane (Loyola Press 1982), "The Archdiocese of Chicago: A Journey of Faith" by Edward R. Kantowicz (Booklink 2007), as well as the Polish language book "Kościoły Polskie w Chicago" {Polish Churches of Chicago} by Jacek Kociolek (Ex Libris 2002).