Catholic Charities of Chicago was founded in 1917 to help support the city's poor and needy amid the economic turbulence of World War I. It has grown into one of the largest social service providers in the Great Lakes region, and the largest Catholic Charities agency in the United States, serving anyone in need. This 1927 headquarters was designed by the famed Chicago firm of Holabird & Roche, originally serving as St. Vincent's Infant Home and Orphanage. A product of the First Chicago School era, it features fireproof steel framing, large plate-glass windows and neoclassical elements. It now anchors Catholic Charities' network of 150 satellite offices and houses the painstakingly renovated St. Louise de Marillac Chapel.
