By REY FLORES
Early on Wednesday morning, October 7, the Shrine of Christ the King on the 6400 block of South Woodlawn in Chicago was ablaze, and it wasn’t the first time either. In 1976 a fire broke out at the then-St. Gelasius Church and put the edifice on the wrecking-ball list.
Despite its condition, the church was never torn down and, after a successful renovation by the Institute of Christ the King at the old St. Mary’s in Wausau, Wis., the late Francis Cardinal George, OMI, invited the institute to use the building for its new parish and American headquarters in Chicago.
No one was killed or injured in this most recent fire, but it certainly causes a major setback to the ongoing renovation project which had been moving ahead. The goal is to restore this beautiful church to its former glory when it opened in the 1920s as St. Clara’s.
I recall first attending the shrine around 2008 when Mass was still being celebrated in an adjacent building in a tiny basement chapel. That chapel soon became very crowded every Sunday. The reason the Mass was celebrated in that basement was that the church building itself still had to have the bare minimum of repairs for it to be used again.
Not long after, the shrine was finally opened for Mass.
Much of the interior of the building looked like those old European churches we have seen in World War II-era history books after they were bombed and gutted. OK, maybe not that bad, but it was certainly more of a shell of a building than a sanctuary.
It was summer and the Chicago hot, humid weather was certainly making its presence known in the old building. The older windows cannot really be opened easily, so aside from a couple of those huge industrial-size metal fans at the rear of the sanctuary, there wasn’t much air circulation. But the people were there anyway.
At first sight, I was a little taken aback because the pews were more like benches, except with kneelers. There were mismatched runner rugs and torch lamps on both sides of the sanctuary. The shrine had items in there that you would be more than likely to see in someone’s house than at a Traditional Latin Mass parish.
Even the baptismal and holy water fonts did not match and it looked more like a Catholic church rummage sale of sorts. The high altar was only a painting made to look like a beautiful old, dark-stained altar, complete with cherubs and scalloped columns.
I grew to love the charm of the place and it showed that these priests really needed our support in trying to build this church into a true shrine for Christ our King. As far as I was concerned, I may as well have been in the Sistine Chapel — that’s how beautiful the shrine is.
I also recall another Mass when everyone was wearing their coats, gloves, and hats — except, of course, no hats for men. The canons were all wearing their traditional vestments that probably kept them somewhat warm on this particular cold Chicago morning.
That morning as Canon Talarico stepped up to the beautiful old wooden elevated antique pulpit and began reading out the week’s announcements before the homily, we could see his breath because it must have been about 30 degrees Fahrenheit in there. Either way, given the beautiful homily, I soon forgot all about the cold.
I have never heard a homily there which hasn’t moved me in very profound ways and that makes any physical discomfort literally disappear. That is how beautiful and wonderful Holy Mass is at the Shrine of Christ the King — or at least it was until this latest fire.
Shortly before my family and I moved away from Chicago, the shrine had almost completed the interior insulation of the ceiling and it was looking great. The fundraising efforts continued, as little by little the parish was being rebuilt and the members were growing in numbers.
I returned once last year and of course I attended Mass at the shrine, but little did I know that that could have been the last time I would go to Mass there.
This isn’t just any old church building that had a fire. It is the United States headquarters for the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, a beautiful religious order dedicated to bringing the beauty and reverence of the Traditional Latin Mass to the whole world. I was able to convince several friends to start attending Mass there. I wanted to share this wonderful secret with everyone I knew.
I can easily call Canon Stein and Canon Talarico personal friends of mine. Canon Stein even visited our home in Virginia and blessed it. You couldn’t ask for more holy and devout priests who love Christ in everything they say and do.
My son John Paul still misses the blue and white cassock and surplice he wore as an altar boy at the shrine in Chicago, but our little nephew Joseph Dominic is now carrying on the tradition since he is still living in the area.
This following quotation is from the shrine’s website, describing some of what happened after the fire:
“Perhaps the most poignant moment of this tragic morning was seeing a firefighter emerge from the church, holding the Infant King in his arms, and handing it to Canon Talarico. This iconic 17th-century statue originated from Spain and graced the High Altar of the Shrine. It was a symbol of the loveliness and the divine majesty of Baby Jesus, and was adored by devotees from all over the country. Though damaged in the fire, somehow the hope and the beauty of the Infant Christ King shone through the soot.”
The shrine families have been devastated by this latest setback, but they remain prayerful and hopeful that the shrine’s restoration will happen nevertheless, but in God’s time, not ours. Thankfully, a nearby parish, St. Thomas the Apostle, has helped the Institute of Christ the King by permitting them to use their church for the Traditional Latin Mass.
With the greatest of fervor and humility, I ask that you prayerfully consider making either a one-time generous financial gift to the restoration of the shrine or make an ongoing monthly contribution to help build this shrine to Christ our King. Perhaps your parish can take up a collection or do a fund-raiser to help these beautiful priests out with their wonderful church.
Please visit www.Institute-Christ-king.org/Chicago to learn how you can help, or if you prefer, you can also go to their GoFundMe page at www.gofundme.com/ShrineFireFund or call them at 773- 363-7409.
Please also pray and have Masses said for the Shrine of Christ the King and all of the clergy and congregation.
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(Rey Flores is a Catholic writer and speaker and can be reached at reyfloresusa@gmail.com.)
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