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The lovely Lakewood-Balmoral neighbhorhood near St. Ita's Church
"Henry John Schlacks (July 4, 1867 – January 6, 1938) was primarily known as an ecclesiologist in a 19th Century sense of the word, meaning one who designs and decorates churches. He was from Chicago, Illinois, and is considered by many to be the finest of Chicago's church architects. Schlacks trained at MIT and in the offices of Adler & Sullivan before starting his own practice. He founded the Architecture Department at the University of Notre Dame and designed several buildings in the Chicago area." (end of Wiki quotation)
"On October 23, 1923, His Eminence George Cardinal Mundelein commissioned Architect Henry J. Schlacks to design and build a new church specifically in French Gothic design for St. Ita Parish. St. Ita's became Schlack's last full-scale masterpiece, the climax of building 12 great churches in the Chicago area."
St. Ita's (see below for some notes)
St. Patrick (Ita is also Irish
Wikipedia on the architect (quoted from Wikipedia)
Dates in Saint Ita Church's History
07/01/1900 Father Crowe celebrates the First Mass for the parish of St. Ita in the old Guild Hall.
12/25/1900 The first Mass is celebrated in the frame building of St. Ita Church.
06/09/1901 The frame Church is dedicated by Archbishop Feehan.
09/12/1901 Father Crowe moves into the frame rectory which had been built at 1220 W. Catalpa.
09/06/1904 St. Ita School opens in the basement of the Church.
04/02/1906 Ground at 5519 N. Magnolia is broken for a new school.
09/1909 All three stories of the brick school building are completed.
04/07/1924 Ground is broken for the Church of St. Ita. Architect Henry J. Schlacks's French Gothic masterpiece.
09/14/1924 The cornerstone for the new Church is laid after the old frame Church is razed.
04/17/1927 The first Mass is celebrated in the present Church. 10/09/1927 St. Ita Church is dedicated by George Cardinal Mundelein.
. . .
01/15/2000 The Centennial Year for St. Ita Parish begins with the celebration of the Feast of Saint Ita.
11/19/2000 Francis Cardinal George presides at the Centennial Mass. The new altar is dedicated and the Church is rededicated.
06/2001 Father Steven W. Patte is appointed pastor of St. Ita Parish.
02/2006 Father David P. Pavlik is appointed pastor of St. Ita Parish.
07/2012 Father JoAndre B. Beltran is appointed Pastor of St. Ita Parish.
07/2016 Father Bob Cook, OFM Conv., is appointed Pastor of Saint Ita Parish.
January 1, 2023