Islamic Community Center of Illinois looking to buy former OLV church and convent to open new high school

by BRIAN NADIG and CYRYL JAKUBOWSKI

The Islamic Community Center of Illinois is raising funds to help buy the former Our Lady of Victory church and convent in Jefferson Park in order to expand its academy to include a new high school.

The organization’s community center and academy is located inside a former church complex at 6435 W. Belmont Ave., and features a mosque.

The academy currently offers pre-school through eighth grade but is looking to establish a college prep high school.

The center created a video to encourage financial support for the project. ICCI could not be reached for comment.

The video, which was filmed inside and outside the former OLV church at 5212 W. Agatite Ave., is posted on the group’s Facebook page and on its Web site. View the video here and here.

“Due to the growing needs of ICCI Academy, we are working to acquire a new building that will provide more space and services to support our students and their Islamic education. This project will allow us to welcome many students currently on our waiting list and better serve our community.

“It will also help us move toward opening the first Islamic High School on the North Side of Chicago, a long-awaited milestone for our community,” the ICCI announced on its fund-raising page.

The Archdiocese of Chicago lists the church and the convent at 5240 W. Agatite Ave., as “on the market.”

It is estimated that the purchase of the OLV property and the construction expense of converting the church and convent to a school would cost several million dollars. The historic campus spans more than 1.6 acres and includes 31,000 square feet of space across the church and the convent, the video states.

The video shows a walk-through of the property with a narration.

“Our vision is to transform this campus into the first Islamic college preparatory high school in the city of Chicago. A place where academic excellence and Islamic values grow side by side. Here, students will receive a rigorous college preparatory college education studying science, mathematics, literature, history and the humanities, preparing them for success at leading universities and future careers,” the video states.

Prayer space would be provided for the students, according to the video.

The video adds that students will learn to think critically and to have a deep sense of responsibility to their community.

The academy currently has a 1 to 8 ratio of teachers to students, according to its Web site. The school and community center were established in the early 2000s.

If plans for the high school materialize, it would be the second high school operating on the former OLV campus.

The adjacent OLV school building at 4434 N. Laramie Ave. was sold several years ago and is now home to Horizon Science Academy Belmont, a charter high school.

In 2021 OLV was consolidated with the Saint Bartholomew and Saint Pascal parishes to form the Our Lady of the Rosary Parish. OLV hosted its last Mass in 2021 and since then, sacred statues have been removed from within the sanctuary, and the church building has undergone a process in which the Catholic Church relegates it for “profane but not sordid use” in order for it to be sold.

Reportedly to help prepare for the possible sale of the church, the Joined Hands Food Pantry will be relocating on Wednesday, June 10, from OLV to the Bartholomew campus.

In addition, a large statue of the Virgin Mary has been moved from the OLV grotto to an outdoor area on the Saint Pascal grounds, although a small statue of the Virgin Mary recently was put in the grotto.

The OLV Spanish Mission-style church consists of two churches, the lower church built in 1927 and the upper church constructed in 1954. The parish itself was founded in 1906.

Before it became the Islamic Community Center of Illinois in 2001, the location at 6435 W. Belmont Ave., was home to the Good Shepherd Church, and prior to that the Christian Assembly.

The ICCI states the following about the school building project:

“To make this project a reality, we are asking for the generous support of our community. Your donations will directly help us secure this building and expand opportunities for our children to receive a well-rounded Islamic education.

“Every contribution — big or small — is greatly appreciated.

“Please help us spread the word and support this important project for our children, our school, and the future of our ummah.”

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