Mission of Our Lady of the Angels

The Catholic parish of Our Lady of the Angels began on this site at the corners of Iowa and Hamlin over a century ago. Today, the former parish has given way to an outreach called the Mission of Our Lady of the Angels that is operated by the Catholic religious community called the Franciscans of the Eucharist of Chicago.

The campus consists of a large, brick church built in 1940, a rectory and convent, the former school building, and the former gym. The Modernist school, rebuilt in 1960 following a devastating fire that claimed the original building and the lives of 92 students and three nuns, is now the main outreach site for the Mission, while the former parish hall and gym, one block south and from the same period, is now the Kelly Hall YMCA. Renovations to the building were completed in 2011-2012.

15-minute tours of the church will be offered and coffee and water will be available in the basement. Self-guided tours are also an option. There is an outdoor memorial to those who died in the fire in the front yard of the rectory.