Archdiocese may issue new OLV church decree

by BRIAN NADIG

The Archdiocese of Chicago recently revoked its decree calling for Our Lady of Victory Church to be relegated for non-sacred use, clearing the way for religious ceremonies to be allowed there again for now.

However, the archdiocese could issue a new decree this year.

The last Mass was held at OLV in November of 2021 after the archdiocese merged the OLV, Saint Bartholomew and Saint Pascal parishes into the new Our Lady of the Rosary Parish. The Saint Bartholomew and Saint Pascal churches remained open as part of the merger.

The decree, which was issued in 2022, called for the OLV Church, 5212 W. Agatite Ave., to be relegated to “profane but not sordid use,” an action which the archdiocese often takes before selling a church.

There is no known buyer lined up for the church, but the former OLV School, 4434 N. Laramie Ave., is being sold to Horizon Science Academy, a charter school that plans to open a junior high and high school there.

It is not clear why the Archdiocese was asked by  the Vatican to revoke its decree, which at the time was under appeal at the Vatican. Sources have said that the issuance of a new decree to deconsecrate the church could be issued as early as this spring.

A group of parishioners, who worked with the Save Our OLV organization, had a pending appeal at the Vatican, arguing that the church was solvent at the time the decision to close it was announced and that it has great historical and architectural significance.

“It’s just beautiful,” Save OLV president Susanna Ernst said of the church. She added that the exact reasons for the decree’s revocation are not clear but that the appeal had an impact on the decision.

“It was the oldest (parish) on the Far Northwest Side,” she said.

The church has an upper section, which was built in 1954, and a lower section, which but was built in 1927. The OLV parish was founded in 1906.

The church was raising $350,000 each year in collections at Mass before the pandemic, Ernst said. The church is located in an area that offers opportunities to grow church membership, she said.

In a letter to parishioners, Our Lady of the Rosary pastor Mike O’Connell wrote that the upkeep of the church building costs about $130,000 a year.

If another decree to deconsecrate the church is issued, Ernst said, she expects parishioners will appeal the decree once again, first to the archdiocese and, if needed, to the Vatican.

“‘Profane but not sordid use” is the phrase used in church law that indicates that a building previously dedicated or blessed to serve as a church is now no longer considered to be a church. After being declared relegated to ‘profane but not sordid use,’ the Blessed Sacrament may not be reserved in the building’s tabernacle and the Mass and other services are not permitted to take place within it,” O’Connell wrote.

He added that the revocation “means that the identity of Our Lady of Victory Church has been restored, at least for the time being. Mass and other sacred ceremonies may once again take place there.”

“Although I have not been fully informed as to how and why the Cardinal decided to reverse the original decree to relegate the church to profane status, I have heard that the Vatican, in response to (the appeal/petition from parishioners) …  asked the Cardinal to restore the church’s sacred identity.

“I am also told that the Vatican was concerned that the canonical process used in preparation for the initial decree of relegation may have been flawed by the Covid era’s use of meetings ‘online’ as opposed to ‘in-person.’ If this is true, I appreciate the Vatican’s dedication to detail and determination to serve the demands of justice.

“But I regret any confusion or pain people may feel as we revisit the matter,” he wrote to parishioners. “Within the next few weeks, I will be seeking advice from the Finance Council, the Unification Team, which serves as our interim Parish Council, and from our parishioners at large, as to our next steps.”