Church History
St. Thomas of Canterbury was founded in 1916 to serve the needs of Catholics in Uptown. As the area evolved, the mission of the church grew to serve the numerous immigrant populations of the neighborhood, as well as the elderly and poor who lived there.
St. Thomas of Canterbury is perhaps the only Catholic church in Chicago to be designed in this distinctively American Neoclassical style, with an imposing colonnade that brings to mind a bank or government building. This might have been intended to convey love of both God and country. The space is today the worship site for "the Parish that speaks five languages." Numerous shrines inside the otherwise restrained and elegant nave, lit through pastel stained-glass windows, celebrate this cultural diversity.
St. Thomas of Canterbury is perhaps the only Catholic church in Chicago to be designed in this distinctively American Neoclassical style, with an imposing colonnade that brings to mind a bank or government building. This might have been intended to convey love of both God and country. The space is today the worship site for "the Parish that speaks five languages." Numerous shrines inside the otherwise restrained and elegant nave, lit through pastel stained-glass windows, celebrate this cultural diversity.
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Architecture & Art
Photo credits: Maggie Flynn & Matt Doula Photography