Ridge Historical Society
Catholic Churches in the Ridge Communities
By Carol Flynn
The Ridge Historical Society has been concentrating on saving the Pike House lately, but there are other changes also in the works for historic properties in the Ridge communities. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago recently announced more changes to neighborhood churches as a result of its ongoing initiative, Renew My Church.
The latest changes involve three historic churches in the Ridge communities, St. Margaret of Scotland, Holy Name of Mary, and Sacred Heart Mission. These changes follow those announced previously for St. Benedict Church in Blue Island.
St. Benedict was the first Catholic parish established on the Ridge, in 1861. The congregation built its first church at York and Gregory Streets in 1864, and built its first school in 1880. The “modern” church there now dates to the 1960s.
St. Benedict merged with St. Walter Parish of Morgan Park, which was established in the 1950s, and St. Peter Claver Mission church of Robbins, started in 1958. As of last fall, the name of this new parish is St. Mary Magdalene Parish.
Last week, it was announced that St. Margaret of Scotland Parish will merge with St. Kilian Parish, with St. Margaret of Scotland Church remaining open as the home base.
St. Margaret of Scotland Church was the first Catholic church founded in the Beverly/Washington Heights/Morgan Park/Mount Greenwood area. The congregation was originally formed as Sacred Heart Mission out of St. Benedict Church in Blue Island, not to be confused with the current Sacred Heart Mission which will be discussed in another post. The early Sacred Heart Mission was also affiliated with the Academy of Our Lady school, which was founded around this same time at 95th and Throop Streets.
The Village of Washington Heights was established in 1874, and the Catholic parish was founded, still called Sacred Heart. It covered a huge territory, from State Street west to today’s LaGrange Road, and from 87th Street to 119th Street. The earliest members of the congregation were German Catholics from Prussia and Bavaria, with a smattering of people from “Hibernia,” an old name for Ireland.
In the early 1890s, the parish name was changed to St. Margaret of Scotland, and when a family donated land at 99th and Throop Streets, the church building from further east was hoisted onto rollers and moved across the prairie to the present location. The current church was dedicated in 1928.
Other parishes were eventually founded on the Ridge – St. Barnabas in 1924, St. Christina in 1926, St. Cajetan in 1927, Christ the King in 1936, Holy Name of Mary in 1940, and St. Walter in the 1950s.
Now, St. Margaret of Scotland Parish will merge with St. Kilian Parish, which is located at 87th and May Streets, effective in July 2022. A new name will be chosen for this new parish. The plan is that St. Margaret of Scotland School will remain open and retain its current name.
Next post: The special circumstances of the current Sacred Heart Mission Church and Holy Name of Mary Parish in Morgan Park.