Did you know Saint John Cantius Church almost didn’t happen? Its story is one of faith. It is also a testament to Chicago’s Polish immigrants. They sought a spiritual home in a new land.
Saint John Cantius Church stands as a reminder. It reminds us of the vibrant Polish community that once thrived here. The church began in 1893. It aimed to relieve overcrowding at Saint Stanislaus Kostka. That was the city’s first Polish Parish. Imagine 23000 people attending Sunday Mass here before World War One.
Adolphus Druiding designed Saint John Cantius Church. Construction started in the spring of 1893. It finished by 1898. The facade uses rusticated stone. It shows the High Renaissance style. Look up. See the coat-of-arms of Poland’s January Uprising. The Polish inscription reads “Boże Zbaw Polskę”. It means “God Save Poland”.
Below this, a Latin inscription. “Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam”. It means “To the Greater Glory of God”. This Jesuit motto is on many churches built around 1900. Three Romanesque Portals invite you inside Saint John Cantius Church. Two asymmetrical towers flank the entrance. Copper cupolas top the towers. They were styled after Saint Mary’s Basilica in Kraków Poland. The whole structure is huge. It is 230 feet long and 107 feet wide. It can hold 2000 people.
Inside Saint John Cantius Church the Baroque interior impresses. Eight stone columns with Corinthian Capitals support the vault. The church got its current look after several interior decorations. This happened within the first forty years of its completion. The High Altar and two Side Altars reportedly came from the 1893 Columbian Exposition.
Step inside. A new inlaid hardwood floor was installed in 1997. Jed Gibbons designed it. Sixteen wood types from around the world make up the medallions. The medallions tell the story of Salvation. The Star of David shows Jesus was born a Jew. Three Crowns represent the arrival of the Three Kings. They show Jesus was made manifest to the World. Instruments of the Passion represent Christ’s suffering. A Banner represents the Resurrection. A Star symbolizes Christ as the Light of the World.
In 2003, a replica of the Veit Stoss Altar was completed. Michael Batkiewicz carved it. It took him eight years. This one-third scale copy honors the Galician immigrants who founded the Parish in 1893.
Saint John Cantius Church also has a permanent Sacred Art exhibition. It is in the North Tower. A Neapolitan “præsepio” from Rome is the collection’s centerpiece. You can also see a 19th-Century copy of Our Lady of Częstochowa. Pope Saint John Paul II blessed its jeweled Crowns. Other treasures include a crucifix from Limpus Portugal. Also a 19th-Century Pietà from Bavaria Germany. A handwritten Altar Missal is on display. Several hundred authenticated Relics of Saints are there too.
The Kennedy Expressway’s construction cut through Chicago’s Polonia. Many residents had to move. The Parish declined. But a revival began in the late 1980s. Saint John Cantius Church became a center for Traditional Catholic Rituals. These included the Tridentine Mass in Latin. Vespers and Benediction returned. The Corpus Christi Procession came back. The Stations of The Cross Tenebræ Services and the Saint Joseph Novena all resumed.
Today seven Parish Choirs support a rich Sacred Music program. The Canons Regular of Saint John Cantius administer the Parish. They founded the Religious Community here in 1998. Saint John Cantius Church remains a beacon. It stands for Polish heritage beauty and faith in Chicago.