Saint John’s Church

The imposing church tower is seen from the Kennedy Expressway, towering 130 feet (40 meters) as a familiar city landmark in Chicago’s West Town “Polonia” neighborhood. It’s Saint John’s Church, and, despite its towering presence, it took five years to build. Founded in 1893, it was completed in 1898. Saint John Cantius Church was built by Polish immigrants, with its namesake being a popular Polish Saint, a priest, philosopher, theologian, and physicist. The church has been under the spiritual care of the Congregation of the Resurrection, an institute of consecrated life for men that was founded in Paris in 1836 to minister to cultural Poles who had emigrated from their motherland. It’s a striking structure, with a unique composition of rusticated Bedford limestone and flat stones influenced by Neo-Classical and Renaissance designs. Three Romanesque portals are set in receding arches that lead to the interior of the church. At the top of the facade is a pediment decorated with the coat-of-arms of Poland’s famous January Uprising (1863-1864), with an inscription that reads in Polish, “God Save Poland.” Just below this is an entablature with in large stone letters the words, Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam, proclaiming that the building is for the greater glory of God. The entrance is flanked by two asymmetrical towers topped with copper cupolas, one 200 feet (61 meters) and the other 100 feet (30 meters) in height. These towering structures are styled after the Basilica of St. Mary in Krakow and influenced by Chartres Cathedral. The entire structure is 230 feet (70 meters) long and 107 feet (33 meters) wide. It can seat approximately 2,000 faithful in its white oak pews.