A Shifting Community

Shrine to La Caridad de Cobre

Edgewater, the neighborhood in which St. Ita is located, experienced a series of changes starting in the 1950s. Lake Shore Drive’s extension to Hollywood Avenue brought new construction, which replaced the mansions and single family homes along Sheridan Road with high rises and apartment complexes. The neighborhood’s population also increased by some 10,000 people, with much of this growth coming from Cuban refugees who settled in the city. As these new families began to attend St. Ita’s, many of the old families began to relocate to the suburbs. This trend increased into the 1960s, with the parish seeing enough of a change in their demographics that they added a Spanish mass in 1966. 

Excerpts from Interviews of Parishoners

Daniel Lagacy Oral History

V: So you mentioned the demographic of the church and how it's very diverse. Can you talk a little more about uh how the demographic of the church has changed from the beginning of the time you're here to now?

D: Well, I would say, actually, the remarkable thing is even though, I mean, even though people have come and go and there always has been, like, a transient element um with the parish and even in the neighborhood, just because of the type of housing, you know like with the apartments and condos on Sheridan Road, you know, who. And that's primarily where a lot of the parishioners have come, or, I mean, there are some in the local neighborhood here, but not as many as we get from other places um closer to the lake. And so really, as far as the demographic shifts, um there hasn't been a, like a change in the diversity, which is also somewhat surprising, although, uh you know, again, people come and go, uh but by and large, there's still that diversity. And even with the uh the parish becoming Mary, mother of God and the unification of the three churches, St. Thomas and St. Gregory, um still that diversity um remains uh and actually increased a little bit with some of the, um some of the diversity at St. Thomas. Uh So...

To learn more about St. Ita’s demographic transformation, listen to these two oral histories above. You can access the full interviews by clicking above.

St. Ita's Mass

Domingo De Ramos de la Pasión Del Señor

Link to mass in English and Spanish: https://www.facebook.com/mmogchicago/videos/35926406045011

St. Ita's weekly mass schedule

St. Ita's 100th Anniversary

St. Ita's 100th Anniversary Fundraising Appeal

Newspaper clipping about St. Ita's Renovation

Email to Folger's Flag and Decorating about Banner Order

Email from Paul Foster to Jack Bess

Communication from Reverand Laurence F. Maddock to Commissioner Al Sanchez

Communication from Fr. Laurence Maddock to Jeff Weeks

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of St. Ita, the church began planning on holding a celebration. One of the ways the church planned to celebrate was to renovate the Church. Wanting the renovations to benefit the parishioners, Father Maddock sent out a survey to see which renovations were needed. The Church ended up building an elevator, installing new washrooms, and redecorating the interior of the Church. These renovations made the church more accessible to the disabled while keeping the beauty of the architecture. Even though the church may be filled with a new community, its commitment to the parish remains strong.

Remember My Church