Fraternité Notre Dame

Once home to Chicago's largest Methodist congregation, this early 20th-Century church is now a shrine to Our Lady of Fréchou. The Fraternité Notre Dame, a Catholic religious order started in France in 1971, hosts daily Mass, a soup kitchen and a food pantry in the space, which it acquired in 2000 after the church had been vacant for nearly 30 years. The property also serves as the Mother House for the order, as well as a novitiate and seminary for future priests and nuns. The seating is striking, arranged in a semicircle to face the altar in the northwest corner. Painted murals by the Sisters surround the shrine to the Most Blessed Virgin Mary and decorate a skylight. Guided tours will be offered.

Sidney R. Badgley