Although updated through the years, the sanctuary reflects the grand architecture
of the church built in 1875.

Serving the Mission in Urban Chicago

This article is the third in a series highlighting parish ministries throughout the Congregation of the Mission Midwest Province.

When Father Edward Smith, CM, arrived in Chicago in 1875 to begin a new parish, the bustling town was only 38 years old. Only four years earlier, the Great Chicago Fire had destroyed 30 percent of the city and left 90,000 people homeless. With $5,000 and a wealth of enthusiasm, he founded the new parish on prairie land on the northern outskirts of the city.

The modest building constructed by Fr. Smith and a small band of committed parishioners had little artistic or architectural merit. When it was dedicated on April 30, 1876, one of the local papers asked sneeringly, “What is it?” In fact, the building was everything: the parish church, the pastor’s home, the parochial school, and the parish hall.

Fueled by its economic boom as a major trading center, Chicago rapidly encompassed the parish, which is now squarely located in an urban neighborhood. Early parishioners were primarily Irish and German immigrants. It wasn’t long before the growth of the city and the needs of the parish demanded a much larger church, more than could be accomplished by expanding the original building.

Fr. Smith, who had spent some intervening years in New Orleans, returned for a second stint as pastor. Especially after the negative press the first parish building received, it was his pleasure to plan the magnificent church that still graces the corner of Webster and Sheffield on Chicago’s North Side.

The history of the parish reads like a history of the city it serves. The early part of the twentieth century was marked by growth, and the parish did well accordingly. It paid off its remaining debt, embellished the sanctuary and grew the school. The parish once offered parochial grade school and high school, and St. Vincent’s College has since grown into DePaul University.

In later decades, the parish suffered through the Great Depression, organizing bazaars and carnivals to keep the parish solvent and to keep ministering to the poor. The neighborhood remained primarily middle class until the early 1960s, when suburbs began to draw people out of the city. Through the 1960s and 1970s, the parish served primarily low- to moderate- income families, both white and Hispanic. At least one Mass was celebrated in Spanish daily.

Beginning in the late 1970s, a trend toward regentrification began, attracting more affluent parishioners. With its proximity to downtown, other attractive neighborhoods, and Lake Michigan, the North Side is once again a very desirable place to live. The trend toward affluence has continued, says Father Donald Ours, CM, who was named pastor in 1996 at age 35.

“I was the same age as most of the parishioners,” says Fr. Ours, who served as pastor for 10 years. (He will soon begin a new assignment in San Antonio.) “Almost 90 percent are between the ages of 23 and 45. They are a very young and active group.”

Although the majority are single, professional people, the number of couples and families is on the rise, says Fr. Ours. “A lot of people here are in transition in their lives. They’ve gone to school and started their careers, but haven’t really settled into family life yet. Some end up moving on, but some are staying as well. We may see a trend to more young families.”

With no grade school or high school, and younger parishioners seeking to be active, Fr. Ours says, “This is a community focused on service. People are attracted to the work we do and want to be part of it. We do lots of outreach to the poor.”

The parish operates a “Sandwich Window,” providing sit-down meal service every morning, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Parishioner volunteers serve over 28,000 sandwiches, about 1,000 special holiday meals, and 30,000 cups of coffee from the Sandwich Window annually. From October through April last year, dedicated soup makers also served about 1,750 gallons of soup to the poor, ensuring guests at least one hot meal during the cold winter months in the Windy City.
The food pantry provides groceries to the neighboring poor on a weekly basis, mostly older adults or middle-age immigrants living in public housing. The parish also operates a night ministry to reach homeless teenagers in the area.
With younger, affluent members and its proximity to the university, the parish has a collegiate feel. That culture is reflected in the liturgy and spiritual growth programs. Sunday services include a strong music program, which features the original Lyon & Healy organ that was installed over 100 years ago. The summer speaker series, a collaboration with three other parishes, is called “Theology on Tap.”

Fr. Ours says, “We work to create a very welcoming environment. Hospitality is very important to attracting people. Communication is also important to let them know how they can be involved.”

The parish seems to have come full circle: at first serving a new city in the 1800s, growing through the life-cycle of the city, including its decline, and then enjoying a rebirth. In mid-July, Father Patrick Harrity, CM, became the newest pastor at St. Vincent de Paul Parish. He, too, has come full circle. He grew up in the parish, then spent many years serving the Congregation of the Mission in Evansville, Indiana; St. Louis; and Perryville. Now he finds himself returned – not to his old parish, but to the new parish that is now St. Vincent de Paul in Chicago.