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St. Michael’s Church

Location: Old Town neighborhood of Chicago / 1633 N Cleveland Avenue, Chicago, IL 60614.

Architect: John Dillenburg and Augustus Wallbaum

Completed: 1869. Most of the building was destroyed in the 1871 Chicago Fire, but the walls and tower survived and the rest was rebuilt within about two years. Rebuilt 1871-73, steeple added 1888. Red brick added to exterior façade in 1913, supervised by Hermann J. Gaul.

Windows: Franz Mayer of Munich, installed July 1903.

 

 

Interior decoration in 1883 by Karl Lambert of NYC, and in 1921 by A. Weinert of Milwaukee. In 1925 a new Kilgen organ, 37 ranks, 2,236 pipes, was installed. Between 1950-53, the church was redecorated.

St. Michael’s Church is a Roman Catholic church. The parish was founded to minister to the German Catholic immigrants in 1850’s.

SAINT MICHAEL the Archangel is referred to in the Old Testament and has been part of Christian teachings since the earliest times. In Roman Catholicism Saint Michael has four distinct roles. First, he is the Enemy of Satan and the fallen angels. He defeated Satan and ejected him from Paradise and will achieve victory at the hour of the final battle with Satan. Secondly, he is the Christian angel of death: at the hour of death, Saint Michael descends and gives each soul the chance to redeem itself before passing. His third role is weighing souls, hence the saint is often depicted holding scales on Judgment Day. And finally, Saint Michael is the Guardian of the Church. Devotions to Saint Michael have a large Catholic following, and a number of churches are dedicated to him worldwide. In art Saint Michael is depicted with a sword, a banner, or scales, and is often shown vanquishing Satan in the form of a dragon.
In Roman Catholic tradition calls Michael, Gabriel and Raphael archangels. Michael means “Who is like God?” (a rhetorical question), Gabriel means “Power of God” or “Strong One of God” and Raphael means “God has healed”. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael are named in the Bible as angels. Only Michael is called an archangel in the Bible.

 

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From the website.. click here..
St. Michael in Old Town was started by the Diocese of Chicago to serve the many German immigrants who had come to Chicago. As these immigrants settled in Chicago, they moved into the area north of the Chicago River known today as “Old Town.” The Archdiocese authorized the founding of St. Michael Parish in 1852, and a committee was established to organize the new parish, which was to be located near North Avenue and Larrabee Street. Michael Diversey, a prosperous immigrant brewer donated a small plot of land at North Avenue and Church Street (later to become Hudson Street) for the newly founded St. Michael’s parish. With property in hand, the committee set about to build a modest house of worship. With the bishop’s consent, the new parish was named for St. Michael, under the patronage of the archangel and in gratitude for Michael Diversey’s land donation.

The church was one of 7 buildings to survive the path of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, although it was heavily damaged. While most of Old Chicago’s infrastructure was made of wood, the church was made of brick which helped it survive the fire. However, only portions of the building survived, like the stone. The church was quickly rebuilt.

It’s website informs..
The task of rebuilding began within a week, and a wooden combination church and school was erected. The roof was complete in October 1872, and on October 12, 1873, the rebuilt St. Michael’s church was consecrated and rededicated. St. Michael’s was one of the first Chicago churches to rise again from the ashes of the Great Fire. On January 30, 1876, the five bells in the as-yet unfinished church tower rang out officially for the first time. The original tower bells had melted into a bronze mass and collapsed into the church building as the roof blazed. The new bells were blessed and dedicated and were named: St. Michael, St. Mary, St. Joseph, St. Alphonsus, and St. Theresa.
As the 20th century began, work began on redecorating the church’s interior. The reredos of the main altar is by Hacker & Son of La Crosse and was installed in 1902. The windows are by the Munich firm of Franz Mayer.

 

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 This post is more about the Art & Architecture of St. Michael’s Church.. click here..

CHURCH INTERIORS: As the 20th century began, work began on redecorating the church’s interior.

FIVE ALTERS: The capstone of the planning included the design and installation of five altars in the church. In 1902,  the five new altars were completed. These carved wood alters were dedicated and installed by E. Hackner & Sons altar-construction firm of Lacrosse Wisconsin. The altars were painted in Baroque style by Milwaukee liturgical artist Alhonse Briefmaier.

The main altar – High Altar of Angels –  is the most magnificent.  In addition to the High Altar of Angels are from left to right; The Poor Souls in Purgatory Altar, The Sacred Heart of Jesus Altar, The Family Altar (or Saint Joseph Altar), and the most revered Our Mother of Perpetual Help Altar.

Main alter: High Alter of Angels
Main alter is surrounded by four smaller altars of:
Poor Souls in Purgatory Altar
The Sacred Heart of Jesus Altar
The Family Alter / St. Joseph Altar
Our Mother of Perpetual Help Altar.

MAIN ALTER – High Alter of Angels –  towers into the cupola of silver, gold, and onyx. It has an 8-foot-tall statue of St. Michael the Archangel in a niche high above. St. Michael is surrounded by the angels Gabriel and Raphael accompanied by pictures of the nine choirs of angels. The four smaller, but artistically consistent side altars commemorate Catholic devotion and are dedicated to the Poor Souls in purgatory, The Sacred Heart of Jesus, Saint Joseph, and Our Mother of Perpetual Help.

 

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Apart from the main alter [High Alter of Angels],  there are four smaller, but artistically consistent side altars, that commemorate Catholic devotion and are dedicated to Our Lady of Perpetual Help, The Sacred Heart of Jesus, St. Joseph and the Poor Souls in purgatory. Images below…

 

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THE KILGEN ORGAN: The Gallery pipe organ at St. Michael’s in Old Town was installed in 1925 by George Kilgen & Sons Pipe Organ Company of St. Louis, Missouri, as Kilgen Opus 3406.

 

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STATIONS OF THE CROSS: depicting images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of his crucifixion are arranged in numbered order around a church nave.

STAINED GLASS WINDOWS:
One of the highlights of the church is its stained glass windows. The current stained glass windows were installed in 1902, when the parish was celebrating the Golden Jubilee.
From the website.. click here..

The Royal Bavarian Establishment for Ecclesiastical Art was selected to create the main windows of the nave of Saint Michael. (The Royal comes from King Ludwig II of Bavaria.) This company was better known at the time as Franz Mayer & Company from Munich, Bavaria, Germany. The art form of stained glass was at the zenith. At that time, centuries of knowledge had been accumulated about the craft, the techniques, and the materials and Franz Mayer produced the finest stained glass of this time. These may be the largest windows the firm ever delivered to the US.

The west windows of the nave portray time in the life of our Blessed Mother Mary and are referred to as the Marian Windows. The east windows focus on events in the life of our Holy Redeemer. Elaborate lacey architecture fills the top of each window and Franz Mayer uses that same lacey design at the bottom of each window. This was not done only for a decorative reason. This design provided Franz Mayer with a more manageable sized area to create the Biblical scene. The size and proportions of the windows were very important since Franz Mayer’s reputation was for realism and expression.

Materials are key to the brilliance of these windows. Gold dust achieves the deep red tones, uranium ore brings out the green color and cobalt provides the beautiful blues of Mary’s garments. The garments are those of Renaissance Europe with fabrics of rich velvet, brocade and silk, not the garments of Jesus’ time.

Windows program from left of entrance [East Windows]/ Events in the life of Holy Redeemer: Jesus Teaching in the Temple; Jesus Preaching and Blessing Children; Ascension (40 days after Easter); Washing of the Feet; Sacred Heart of Jesus Vision.
Windows from right off entrance [West Windows]/ Life of Blessed Mother Mary Windows [Marian Windows]: Presentation of Mary in the Temple; Annunciation; Assumption (feast = 15 August); Mary and Elizabeth; Adoration of the Magi.
Single and paired standing Saints fill the apse windows, and single standing painted-on-glass saints are above the three doorways of the church. There are also music and floral theme windows in the choir.

 

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RELATED LINKS
Places of Worship: Churches & more.. click here..
Places of Worship: Temples & more.. click here..
Open House Chicago [OHC].. click here..

Photo Gallery / Church Art and Architecture.. click here..

Home: Public Art in Chicago.. click here..

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