Parishioners and preservationists fight to save 125-year-old Chicago church
CHICAGO (CBS) — Our Lady of Lourdes Church will soon close, and it could be demolished.
But not if Preservation Chicago and other organizations succeed in saving the 125-year-old church and its parishioners' efforts.
Melodic sounds echo inside the historic church.
Our Lady of Lourdes Church has been serving the neighborhoods of Andersonville, Ravenswood, and Uptown for 125 years, but now it's in jeopardy of being demolished.
"It is a magnificent, historically and architecturally significant church," said church advocate Julie Sawacki.
The church held its first Mass in October of 1892 on the southwest corner of Ashland and Leland Avenues.
In 1929, a team of 50 men and horses lifted the 10,000-ton church from its foundation, rolling on 400 tons of rails, and moved it across the street.
"Imagine tearing something so significant down," Sawacki said.
The Archdiocese of Chicago said attendance at Our Lady of Lourdes Church Sunday Masses has steadily dropped.
It said the church needs more than $2 million in immediate repairs, and there's no viable plan to raise that amount of money and maintain the church.
But parishioners like Hilda Correa are hoping to save it because they said it attracts tourists, both Christian and non-Christians.
"The religious aspect is what's really touching us because losing such a valuable place that people can come, such as these days," Correa said.
The last service at our Lady of Lourdes is May 19. The organization plans to revive it and make it a Holy Shrine. Preservation Chicago said the process to make it a landmark is not easy.
"The effort here will probably be long and labored, perhaps. There's a lot of different moving parts and a lot of different factors," said Preservation Chicago Executive Director Ward Miller.
Miller is expecting the Archdiocese to push back because it's against a move by parishioners to keep St. Adalbert's in Pilsen open. There's a hearing on that Friday at City Hall.
"You would think we could all work together to resolve this," Miller said.
If the church does close, the archdiocese said parishioners are welcome to attend St. Mary of the Lake parish nearby.
