West Town, Chicago / St. Stanislaus Kostka Roman Catholic Church

St. Stanislaus Kostka Roman Catholic Church

St. Stanislas Kostka Church is designated as Chicago’s Sanctuary of the Divine Mercy.

St. Stanislaus Kostka Church is the ‘mother church’ of all other Polish churches in the Archdiocese of Chicago.

It is a prime example of the so-called ‘Polish Cathedral style’ of churches in both its opulence and grand scale.

Along with the Basilica of St. Hyacinth, St. Mary of the Angels, and St. Hedwig’s,
it is one of the many monumental Polish churches visible from the Kennedy Expressway.

Location: 1351 N Noble St. [at Evergreen Avenue], Chicago, IL 60642
Just west of Kennedy Expressway [I-94].

St. Stanislaus Kostka Roman Catholic Church / Image David Wilson via Wikimedia Creative Commons.

The church was completed in 1881. It was designed by Patrick Keely of Brooklyn, who was also the architect of Chicago’s Holy Name Cathedral.

It is constructed of yellow brick with limestone accents with interior measurements of 200 ft in length and 80 ft in width, allowing seating for 1500.

The painting above the altar by Tadeusz Żukotyński depicts Our Lady placing the infant Jesus in the arms of St. Stanislaus Kostka. Żukotyński, who came to Chicago in 1888, was considered one of Europe’s foremost painters of religious subjects.

Other artistic treasures in the church include the Stained glass windows by F.X. Zettler of the Royal Bavarian Institute in Munich.

The chandeliers in the nave by the studios of Louis Comfort Tiffany.

The southern cupola was destroyed by lightning in 1964, and the northern cupola was rebuilt with a more simplified profile in 2002.

In the early 1950’s, the church was slated to be razed to make room for the Kennedy Expressway, but due to protests by the Polish community and the work of legislators like U.S. Representative Daniel Rostenkowski, the path of the expressway was altered and the church was saved.

Sanctuary of the Divine Mercy: In 2007, Cardinal Francis George designated St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish as the Sanctuary of the Divine Mercy in Chicago and, in 2008, he blessed the iconic Monstrance, Our Lady of the Sign-Ark of Mercy, which draws many people to 24-hour Eucharistic Adoration at this historic church.

St. Stanislaus Kostka Roman Catholic Church

Main alter / St. Stanislaus Kostka Roman Catholic Church

St. Stanislaus Kostka Roman Catholic Church

Our Lady placing the infant Jesus in the arms of St. Stanislaus Kostka – painting by Tadeusz Żukotyński / St. Stanislaus Kostka Roman Catholic Church

St. Stanislaus Kostka Roman Catholic Church

Iconic Monstrance / St. Stanislaus Kostka Roman Catholic Church

Our Lady of the Sign The Ark of Mercy at St. Stanislas Kostka Church. The church has been designated as Chicago’s Sanctuary of the Divine Mercy. For more.. click here..