Our Lady of Victory Church was organized on September 10, 1906 as a mission of St. Edward parish. Rev. Martin M. Lennartz CS (Viatorian) cared for the small Catholic community, and celebrated Mass in a hall on Milwaukee Avenue, on the southeast corner of Lawrence Avenue. On August 18, 1906, a "Lawn Social" for the benefit of the new Catholic church in Jefferson Park" was held on the lawn of the J.S Dietchert home. At that time, there were wooden sidewalks, wooden block streets, and streetcars which operated to Lawrence and Milwaukee Avenues only in the summertime. The Milwaukee streetcar going South went to Armitage. The people then transferred to a cable car which took them to the loop by means of the Washington Street tunnel. The cable cars were identical to those used in San Francisco today.
Horse drawn carriages and surreys with the fringe on top could be seen on the streets. Every now and then a horse would run away and frighten the pedestrians. Occasionally, the hook and ladder fire engine, drawn by horses, would go clanging their bells down the old plank road.
It was an area of wide open prairies, stretching westward from Laramie Avenue. Wild strawberries and violets covered the fields. Some of the old timers remember the creek that ran along Windsor Avenue where many a youngster went swimming. Alongside this creek was a railroad spur, a supply line to the State Hospital at Narrangansett.
Some parishioners speak of the cornfield on the site of the Wilson Park play field, of the apple trees on the East side of Milwaukee Avenue between Montrose and Agatite, and of Silverman's pond near 4900 Sunnyside Avenue. Others recall the red painted Dickenson Inn at the bend on Milwaukee Avenue near Warner (Lincoln slept there, so the story goes), the horse and chicken barn on the church grounds, and the three foot high black iron rail circling the parish grounds.
In 1907 a cottage at 4741 N. Linder Avenue was acquired for use as a church. During the Eucharistic celebration in this frame structure, the men occupied one side of the room and the women the other. In 1907 the congregation numbered about 25 families.
The parish boundaries extended from Mayfair (Cicero Avenue) on the East to the Des Plaines river on the West, and from Belmont Avenue on the South to Higgins Avenue.
Elizabeth Massmann was instrumental in organizing the Catholics of the district, and she solicited donations for the new church from shopkeeper along Milwaukee and Lawrence. Her fondness for a Catholic Church in Ohio named Our Lady of Victory, promoted her to request that the new parish be named "Our Lady of Victory."
It appears that for a short time, Rev. Edward J. Mullaly, CSP, an assistant at Old St. Mary Church, cared for the small Catholic congregation in Jefferson Park.
On Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1909, Rev. Francis Cichozi, former assistant at the German parish of St. Joseph in Wilmette, began his tenure of 41 years as pastor of Our Lady of Victory. One of his first acts was to appoint a church committee, the members which were drawn from the three ethnic groups in the parish - German, Polish, and Irish. The committeemen were Gabriel Marcenkowski, August Kowalski, George Bezold, George Lux, Andrew Killoren and Edward Cox.
In March 1910, 20 lots at the present parish site were purchased, and construction began on a combination church-school building. The cornerstone was laid on May 22, 1910. This three story structure, located at 4444 Laramie was dedicated on May 28, 1911, by Archbishop James E. Quigley. The New World commented that:
"The development of Our Lady of Victory parish has been phenominal. Only a few years ago the place where the chuch is now situated, as well as the surrounding territory, was nothing but farm land and pasture. Today beautiful residences and modern flat buildings are in evidence everywhere...many of the Catholic families of the inner city, who are anxious to get away from the smoke and congestion and who wish to give their children a beautiful home, near a parochial school and church are locating in the new parish. The Milwaukee Avenue car line cuts diagonally through the entire section in which Our Lady of Victory parish is located. The church property is at 52nd [Laramie] and Sunnyside Avenues, only one block West of Milwaukee Avenue."
The School Sisters of St. Francis from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, opened the parish school in the fall of 1911; and The New World reported that nearly 200 children were enrolled.
Father Frank bought an old farm house which stood on Milwaukee Avenue near Agatite. It was moved across Milwaukee Avenue at night because the trolley wires had to be cut. The building became the Rectory and is presently known as the "Club House."
To help the parish grow financially, chance books were much in circulation and picnics were scheduled every summer. These were held usually in July at Elm Tree Grove or at Kolze's near Narragansett on Irving Park Road. The children enjoyed the merry-go-round (pulled by a tired old horse) and the boat-like wooden swings at Elm Tree Grove. There were many willing workers on the grounds, and the kitchen was quite a drawing card as ham sandwiches, cake, coffee or milk could be purchased for twenty five cents. Ice cream cones were only a nickel. Streetcar fare to the grove was seven cents for adults and children over five paid three cents. Those were the good old days.
In 1914, St. Pascal parish was organized at 4242 N. Austin Avenue; and in 1917, St. Bartholomew parish was established at Addison Street and Lavergne Avenue. On October 7, 1917, Archbishop George W. Mundelein blessed St. Constance Church at 5809 W. Strong Street. This parish had been established by 90 Polish families who formerly belonged to Our Lady of Victory Church. All of these parishes were originally within O.L.V. borderlines.
In 1919, the O.L.V. school was enlarged by the addition of three bungalows which were erected on Sunnyside Avenue. A 1925 Catholic directory listed Our Lady of Victory as a "German and English" parish. In that year, 706 children were enrolled in the school.
The Catholic population of this district was growing so rapidly that, in 1925, St. Cornelius Church was established at 5430 W. Foster Avenue.
Plans for a new convent and church were drawn up by the architectural firm of E. Brielmaier & Sons, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The firm also designed the rectory, which was built at 5212 W. Agatite Avenue. On April 27, 1927, ground was broken for the new structures on Agatite Avenue. The Sister's convent at 5240 W. Agatite Avenue was completed on Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 1927. Mass was celebrated in the substructure of the church on Palm Sunday, April 1, 1928. On May 12, 1929, Cardinal Mundelein dedicated this portion of the church.
In 1930, St. Robert Belarmine parish was established to serve Catholic families who lived West of Central Avenue. Despite a loss in O.L.V. territory, the membership at Our Lady of Victory parish continued to increase.
In 1934, Father Frank Cichozki celebrated the 25th anniversary of his appointment as pastor. During the 1940s, he directed the modernization of the parish plant. The new school buidling wa completed in 1949, at 4434 N. Laramie Avenue, at a cost of $300,000.
When Father Cichozki's health began to fail, Rev. Gerald J. Morrisey was appointed parish administrator. He served in this capacity from September of 1948 until March of 1950.
At the time of Father Cichozki's death on March 5, 1950, Our Lady of Victory parish numbered 2,500 families with approximately 1,100 children enrolled in the school. Rev. Daniel J. Strokes, a former assistant at this parish, became pastor of O.L.V.
Under Father Stokes leadership, work was resumed on the upper church. Unfortunately, he did not live to see the building complete; he died on June 20, 1953, at the age of 55.
Rev. Henry W. Fitzgerald, a former pastor of St. Bridget Church, began his tenure in this parish in July, 1953. Under his direction, construction continued on the upper church, which was opened for services on Easter Sunday, April 18, 1954. On October 3, 1954, Samuel Cardinal Stritch dedicated the magnificent structure, completed at a cost of more than $1 million. The interior and exterior of Our Lady of Victory Church are of modified Spanish design. The facade is of stone quarried in Minnesota, and its cross-topped spire rises 118 feet above the sidewalk.
As you enter the church through massive oak doors, your attention is drawn to th travertine marble walls and to the main altar in the sanctuary which is surmounted by a magnificent painting of Our Lady of Victory. Above the altar is a crucifixion/group which includes the figures of the Blessed Mother and St. John. The combined seating capacity of the lower and upper churches is 2,000.
The stations of the cross were carved by an artist in Italy. The stained glass windows depicting the mysteries of the Rosary are in brilliant colors. The sanctuary windows symbolize the passion of Our Lord. And the choir window represents the Resurrection of Christ.
The baptistry was originally to the right of the main entrance under the tower, and was enclosed by bronze doors and screens imported from Germany. To conform with the latest rubrics, the baptistry has been moved to the front left side of the sanctuary. A three manual organ was installed by the Allen Organ Company, at a cost of $21,000. As part of the building program, a central heating plant was built, and the school and rectory were remodeled.
The Parish property today occupies 3 acres, consisting of church, rectory, convent, school building with 24 classrooms, club building, and a parking area. The parish membership is over 2,600 families.
Following Father Fitzgerald's death on November 21, 1958, at the age of 60, Rt. Rev. Msgr. Raymond J. Zock, former assistant at St. Casimir Church, was named pastor. The parish debt totalled $800,000. To better serve the 1,300 students who attended the parish school, the pastor directed the construction of a junior high school building on Laramie Avenue and Sunnyside Avenue. The structure, with its six classrooms, gym, faculty lounge, and science laboratory, was dedicated on December 15, 1964, by Albert Cardinal Meyer. The existing school buildings were renovated to harmonize with the new addition, and the total cost of these projects were $400,000. These improvements increased the financial burden of the parish; but, through the generosity of the parishioners and the excellent leadership of Msgr. Zock, the parish debt was liquidated by 1969.
After guiding Our Lady of Victory parish through the Vatican II years, Msgr. Zock became pastor emeritus in 1973. He retired and moved to Las Vegas, Nevada where he was active with the local church there until his death on
October 4, 1986.
Rev. Francis R. Nolan, a former associate pastor at nearby St. Edward Parish, was named pastor on October 3, 1973. He directed the liturgical renovation of the lower church, which is known as the "Marian Chapel" and which was dedicated to the memory of Fr. Martin Poole. Through the generous donations of parishioners, other improvement were made in the parish complex under Fr. Nolan's leadership as the parish contiued to move forward. In June 1978, Father Nolan requested sick leave. He died on December 30, 1978, at Loyola Medical Center in Maywood, Illinois.
Rev. John A. Kuzinskas began his pastorate at Our Lady of Victory on March 25, 1979. After his ordination in 1952, he was assigned to various parishes on the south side of Chicago. Father Kuzinskas has the singular distinction of being the first Catholic priest to officiate at the wedding of a daughter of an incumbent President of the United States when Lucy Baines Johnson married Patrick J. Nugent. Prior to his appointment to O.L.V. he served as pastor of St. Bartholomew Church in Waukegan, Illinois.
The primary concerns of Father Kuzinskas are to model what a faith community should be and the part it must play in the life of its poeple at O.L.V. Also in two years numerous improvements on the parish buildings and grounds have been made through the generous support and help of many talented parishioners.
In the late 1970s, Our Lady of Victory parish served more than 2,600 families who lived in the area bounded by Lawrence Avenue on the North, Irving Park Road on the South, Central Avenue on the West, and Cicero Avenue on the East. Annual enrollment in the parish school numbers more than 600 children.
An active parish, Our Lady of Victory supports a Holy Name Society, St. Vincent De Paul Society, Sodality of the Blessed Virgin, Mother's Club, Parish Ministry Program for the elderly, sick and shut-ins called Friends and Neighbors, Parish Club, Parish Choir, Scout Parents' Club, Band Parents' Club, Men's Choral Group, Teen Club and Baptismal Preparation Group.
Presently, Our Lady of Victory parish pastor is Rev. Christopher Doering. The associate pastor is Rev. Eugene Winkowski. Rev. Abraham M. Jacob are Priests in Residence. We also have three permanent Deacons: Rev. Mr. Michael Ahem and Rev. Mr. Robert Leck. |
