LINCOLN SQUARE — St. Matthias Catholic Church will host a Christmas Eve Mass for the first time in three years, welcome news for the parishioners who have fought to keep the beloved church open.
The 4 p.m. Sunday service at the church, 2310 W. Ainslie St., is one sign that the Archdiocese of Chicago may be reconsidering its position on closing the church, said parishioners from the nonprofit Save St. Matthias Church.
The group has been fighting to keep the church open since November 2019. That’s when the Archdiocese of Chicago announced plans to close St. Matthias and consolidate its parish with Queen of Angels, 2330 W. Sunnyside Ave. in Ravenswood.
“It’s been four years since they said it was going to close, and it’s still open,” said Gerry Winters, president of Save St. Matthias. “The current pastor [Jason Malave] is also saying he’s not going to close it for at least five more years. It’s open for the school and other sacraments.”
Those sacraments include baptisms, confirmations, weddings and funerals, Winters said.
“[Malave] doesn’t want regular Sunday Masses still, which is a point we’ve talked with him about,” Winters said. “But I don’t think we’re gonna get any better than where we’re at now.”
In an emailed statement, an archdiocese spokeswoman said that while the church’s regular Sunday Masses transitioned to nearby Queen of Angels in January 2021, St. Matthias remains a “sacred space and has been available for the St. Matthias School weekday Masses and for other occasional Masses during the year.”
Other upcoming special services planned include an Easter Mass. The Save St. Matthias Church group hopes keeping the Lincoln Square church open for some services will help stabilize and grow the parish over time, with the possible return of regular Sunday Mass, Winters said.
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