Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago

"Bishop of Chicago" redirects here. For the Bishop of Chicago for the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, see St. Thomas Diocese of Chicago

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago is a particular church of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. The Archdiocese of Chicago is one of the largest dioceses in the nation by population and is comprised of Cook and Lake counties, covering 1,411 square miles (3,653 km²) of Illinois. The original Diocese of Chicago was created on November 28, 1842, and was elevated to the dignity of an archdiocese on September 10, 1880. On September 27, 1908, the Diocese of Rockford was broken off from the Archdiocese, and to create the Diocese of Joliet in Illinois on December 11, 1948, territory was taken from Peoria, Rockford and Chicago diocese. The Archbishop of Chicago concurrently serves as metropolitan bishop of the Ecclesiastical Province of Chicago, whose suffragan bishops are the bishops of Belleville, Joliet, Peoria, Rockford, and Springfield.

There are 2,363,000 Catholics living in the Cook and Lake counties of Illinois, or 39% of the population. Of these, 51% is white, 39.8% Hispanic, and the remaining 10% other. There are 366 Parishes in the diocese and 1,752 weekly scheduled masses. There are also 217 elementary schools, 40 secondary schools, 480 seminary students, 5 catholic colleges and universities, 47 cemeteries, and 21 hospitals. The diocese is staffed by 1678 priests, 321 brothers, 2,503 sisters, 611 deacons.

Holy Name Cathedral in downtown Chicago is the mother church of the Archdiocese of Chicago. The Archdiocese also has three minor basilicas, the most of any diocese in the United States: Basilica of Saint Hyacinth, Our Lady of Sorrows Basilica, Queen of All Saints Basilica. The archdiocese ministers in three languages: English, Polish, and Spanish. His Eminence Francis Cardinal George, OMI is the current Archbishop of Chicago.

Diocesean history

Missionaries arrival

Father Marquette

French Jesuit missionary Rev. Jacques Marquette, SJ first explored the area that is now Chicago in the mid-1600s. On December 4, 1674, Father Marquette arrived at the mouth of the Chicago River where he built a cabin to recuperate from his travels. His cabin would become the first white settlement in the area now known as Chicago. Marquette published his survey of the new territories, and soon, more French missionaries and settlers arrived.

First priest

In 1795, the Potawatomi tribe signed the Treaty of Greenville that ceded to the United States a track of land at the mouth of the Chicago River. There in 1804, Fort Dearborn was erected and protected newly arrived Catholic pioneers. In 1822, Alexander Beaubien became the first person to be baptized in Chicago. In 1833, Jesuit missionaries wrote a letter to Most Rev. Joseph Rosati, Bishop of Saint Louis and Vicar General of Bardstown, pleading for the appointment of a resident pastor to serve over one hundred professing Roman Catholics living in Chicago. Rosati appointed a diocesan priest, Rev. John Mary Irenaeus Saint Cyr. Fr. Saint Cyr celebrated his first mass in a log cabin owned by the Beaubien family on Lake Street, near Market Street, in 1833. >

First parish

At the cost of four hundred dollars, Father Saint Cyr purchased a plot of land on what is now the intersection of Lake and State Streets and constructed a church building of twenty-five by thirty-five feet (8 by 11 m). It was dedicated in October 1833. The following year, the Bishop of Vincennes visited Chicago. There he found over four hundred Catholics with only one priest to serve them all. The bishop asked permission from Bishop Rosati to send Fathers Fischer, Shaefer, Saint Palais, Dupontavice and Joliet from Vincennes to tend to the needs of the Chicago region. In 1837, Fr. Saint Cyr was allowed to retire and was replaced by Chicago's first English-speaking priest, Rev. James Timothy O'Meara. Father O'Meara moved the church built by Fr. Saint Cyr to what is now the intersection of Wabash Avenue and Madison Street. When Fr. O'Meara left Chicago, Saint Palais tore down the church and replaced it with a new brick structure.

Diocesan establishment

The First Plenary Council of Baltimore concluded that the Roman Catholic population of Chicago was growing exponentially and was in dire need for an episcopal see of its own. With the consent of Pope Gregory XVI, the Diocese of Chicago was canonically erected on November 28, 1842. In 1844, William J. Quarter of Ireland was appointed as the first Bishop of Chicago. Upon his arrival, Quarter summoned a synod of thirty-two Chicago priests to begin the organization of the diocese. >One of Quarter's most important achievements was his successful petitioning the passage of an Illinois state law in 1845 that declared the Bishop of Chicago an incorporated entity, a corporation sole, with power to hold real and other property in trust for religious purposes. This allowed the bishop to pursue mass construction of new churches, colleges and universities to serve the needs of Chicago's Roman Catholic faithful. After four years of service as Bishop of Chicago, Bishop Quarter died on April 10, 1848.

Fire of 1871

The church lost nearly a million dollars in church property in the Chicago fire of 1871, helping to cause administrative instability for decades to come.

Archdiocese establishment

His Eminence Francis Cardinal George, OMI is the current Archbishop of Chicago.

The southern section of the state of Illinois split from Chicago diocese, becoming the Diocese of Quincy in 1853, then Alton diocese (later Springfield) in 1857, and the Diocse of Peoria in 1877.

From 1844 to 1879, the residential bishop of the Diocese of Chicago held the title Bishop of Chicago. With the elevation of the diocese to an archdiocese in 1880, the residential bishop held the title Archbishop of Chicago. Since 1915, all Archbishops of Chicago have so far been honored in consistory with the title of Cardinal Priest and membership in the College of Cardinals. The archbishops also have responsibilities in the dicasteries of the Roman Curia. All but two residential bishops were diocesan priests before assuming the episcopacy in Chicago. Two came from religious orders: the Society of Jesus and the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate.>

Archbishop's Residence

The Archbishop's Residence at 1555 North State Parkway, a mansion listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is the official home of the Archbishop of Chicago. Built in 1885 by Patrick Augustine Feehan, first Archbishop of Chicago, the Archbishop's Residence has also served as a temporary home for various men who assumed the Chair of Saint Peter to become pope — Pope Pius XII, Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II. President of the United States Franklin Delano Roosevelt also used the Archbishop's Residence as a temporary home. Before the establishment of the Archbishop's Residence, the Bishops of Chicago were in residence at a mansion on LaSalle Street and North Avenue.

The Archbishop's Residence is Victorian with nineteen chimneys, designed by James H. Willett who designed the whole residence as well. The first floor consists of sitting rooms and rooms for resident priests and guests. It also houses a chapel, kitchen and dining room. The second and third floors compose the private residence of the Archbishop of Chicago, including his library and office. The building features two entry facades — designed for pedestrians and carriages. A coach house is also on the grounds.>

Structure of the Archdiocese

Prelature

The Office of the Archbishop of Chicago is located at the Pastoral Center at 155 East Superior Street in downtown Chicago near the Loyola University Chicago Water Tower Campus. It is from the Pastoral Center that the Archbishop of Chicago exercises his administrative duties as leader of the archdiocesan prelature.

Vicariates

Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Lake View East is mother church of a Chicago vicariate, residence of the auxiliary bishop and home to the large Archdiocese Gay and Lesbian Outreach worship community.

The prelature of the Archdiocese of Chicago, also called its curia, is the body of administration and governance under the authority of the Archbishop of Chicago. It is led by the Vicar General, who serves in a similar capacity of a prime minister. The Vicar General is a diocesan priest who has been given the ordinary executive power normally reserved for a diocesan bishop. He acts in concert with six episcopal vicars administering smaller territories of the archdiocese called vicariates.

The episcopal vicars are six auxiliary bishops in service to the Archbishop of Chicago. They are titular bishops ordained to titular sees. Each is responsible for the governance of parishes and other institutions within the six individual vicariates.>

Departments

The Archbishop of Chicago has final authority over all the departments, agencies, and the educational institutions of the archdiocese, including Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary, Saint Joseph College Seminary, and the University of Saint Mary of the Lake or Mundelein Seminary. He appoints auxiliary bishops, priests and religious brothers and sisters to oversee the departments.

The departments and agencies include: Amate House, Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women, Archives and Records, Assistance Ministry, Big Shoulders Fund, Catechesis, Catholic Cemeteries, Catholic charities of the archdiocese of chicago, Catholic Chaplaincy at O'Hare, Catholic Schools, Chancellor, Communications and Public Relations, Conciliation, Diaconate, Divine Worship, Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, Evangelization and Catechesis, Family Ministries, Financial Services, Food Service Professionals, Lay Ecclesial Ministry, Lay Ecclesial Ministry Formation, Legal Services, Liturgy Training Publications, Metropolitan Tribunal, Ministerial Evaluation, Ministry in Higher Education, Office of Professional Responsibility, Office for Persons with Disabilities, On Going Formation in Ministry, Peace and Justice, Racial Justice, Research and Planning, Respect Life, Stewardship and Development, Vocations, Young Adult Ministry, Youth Ministry Office.