UPTOWN — Neighbors are working to protect Uptown’s historical Our Lady of Lourdes church and its unique grotto, which are slated to close for good in May.
Our Lady of Lourdes Church, 4640 N. Ashland Ave., will close after hosting its last Mass May 19. Portions of the parish campus are already slated for redevelopment, but plans for the 108-year-old church building have not been finalized, according to the Archdiocese of Chicago.
The parish merged with Buena Park’s St. Mary of the Lake in 2021 as part of the Catholic Church’s effort to consolidate church resources. Since then, Our Lady of Lourdes’ school building has been sold to developer Honore Properties, who will turn the building into 42 apartments.
A construction permit for the school building conversion was issued in late January, city records show. The building is expected to be move-in ready by the summer, according to Honore Properties.
Masses have still taken place at Our Lady of Lourdes church since the parish merger, but that will no longer be the case beyond May 19, an announcement that was made by church officials in early February.
Now, parishioners and Uptown neighbors are rushing to preserve the church and save it from possible demolition. More than 180 people have signed a petition requesting the church and its rectory receive landmark status.
The group of parishioners who launched the petition hope to eventually buy the church so it can remain open to the public, said Katarina Garcia, who is leading the effort. Garcia and other parishioners have formed the nonprofit Our Lady of Lourdes Church Preservation Society with plans to raise money to buy and preserve the church.
“It’s one of the most diverse churches in the city, and it’s important to the Spanish community,” said Garcia, whose family has attended the church for generations.
After the final Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes, future celebrations will be held at St. Mary of the Lake, 4220 N. Sheridan Road. All sacred items will be brought there, as well, according to an announcement from church leadership.
When the churches merged, Garcia and other parishioners began filing appeals with the archdiocese to prevent Our Lady of Lourdes’ permanent closure. Even though they knew most of their appeals would be denied, their repeated appeals have temporarily delayed the church’s closure, Garcia said.
Our Lady of Lourdes is beloved in the community in part for its grotto. It is a replica of the famous Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes in France, which is a cavernous holy site for Catholics.
The grotto is one of the only perpetual adoration sites in the area. In 1992, the Uptown church’s grotto was opened 24/7 as a place of worship. The grotto will be closed along with the church May 19.
When the grotto opened, Garcia’s parents signed up to pray there every Wednesday from midnight until 3 a.m. and did so for many years, she said.
“It’s the only one of its kind, where you can just go in there at any time and pray,” Garcia said.
The grotto is just one part of Our Lady of Lourdes’ history in Uptown.
Our Lady of Lourdes held its first Mass in October 1892 on the southwest corner of Ashland and Leland avenues. A larger church was built in 1916 on the east side of Ashland.
When the city of Chicago widened Ashland Avenue in 1929, a team of 50 men and horses lifted the 10,000-ton church from its foundation and moved it across the street, according to Open House Chicago’s website.
Once it was moved, crews rotated it 90 degrees, cut it in half and added a 30-foot expansion in the middle.
“This enormous undertaking drew national attention during the Great Depression,” Open House Chicago’s website reads.
The church is rated “orange” in the city’s historical survey, meaning it does not have landmark status but it is protected from immediate demolition by requiring a study of the building before such plans would be approved.
Garcia’s family attended Our Lady of Lourdes her entire life. Garcia went to school in the building across the street, and her children were baptized in the church. Our Lady of Lourdes closed in 2004.
She hopes to preserve the facility for generations of Uptown families to come.
“Every part of that church is important to me,” Garcia said. “It just has a lot of memories. I actually made the calligraphy on the sign by the grotto entrance, so there are parts of the church I was involved in. There’s so much history there for me and my family.”
To learn more about parishioners’ preservation efforts, join their Facebook Group or email them at info@ololpreservationsocietyofchicago.org.
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