St rita church chicago windows#

The event unveiled the beauty of seven mosaics and two sculptures while truly capturing the importance of intercession through the saints. Rita Monastery Community hosted a dedication mass to celebrate and bless the nine shrines that are present along the chapel walls. As we reflect on her life journey, we are called to reflect on our own life journey from baptism, through life, to eternal life with God. These beautiful banners depict the life journey of St. This final banner hung within the sanctuary completes Rita’s lifelong journey on earth to her eternal reward in heaven. The last banner to the right depicts a dove representing peace and the fact that Rita’s life was devoted to being a peacemaker in her family, her community and to all she encountered. Then again to the left, we see the Official Seal of the Augustinian Order depicting Rita’s final vocation as an Augustinian Cloistered Nun. Moving again to the right, we encounter her widowhood and the tears that were shed from a sorrowful and mournful heart. To the left we now see her vocation as mother with the two roses representing her two beloved sons. The wedding rings depicted are designed after her actual wedding ring, which is on display in the Monastery in Cascia, Italy. Her journey continues to the right banner depicting her sacramental vocation as wife. Upon entering the center doors of the Shrine Chapel, we bless ourselves with the holy water that reminds us of our baptism.įollowing the progression of the banners, beginning with the left banner, we see the baptismal name of Rita with a rose that has come to symbolize her life. Her life journey mirrors our life journey from baptism to eternal life with God. The hanging banners visually tell the life story of St. Rita, and the Official Seal of the Augustinian Order, both of which date back to 1932.

St rita church chicago windows#

The stained glass windows that now flank the statue of St. Rita dates back to 1909 and was one of the first statues with glass eyes to give the statue a realistic appearance. The reliquary containing the first class relic of St. The Shrine prayer space reincorporates key artifacts from the original Shrine on 63rd Street. The renovation was designed and carried out by Unreal of 3514 West 111th Street, Chicago. The lovely sanctuary was also completely redecorated at this time. This renovation included the construction of the present Shrine prayer space and the visualization of the life story of St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel was beautifully renovated. In the year of Our Lord 2000, on the 100th anniversary of the canonization of St. Samples were taken and the fluid was determined to be olive oil, according to the Las Cruces Sun-News.Established in 1905 at 63rd and Oakley Avenue and moved in 1990 to 77th and Western Avenue In July 2018, a weeping Mary was reported at the Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Hobbs, New Mexico. The statue's owner had apparently been spraying it with a squirt gun, according to the Center for Inquiry. There are no pipes hooked up to drip water.'Īpparitions of the Virgin Mary are not uncommon, but most are swiftly debunked: A crying Mary statue in Pavia, Italy, in 1980 was ultimately determined to be a fraud. 'The cynics will say that,' he told the Tribune.

He denies the tears were a hoax devised to draw attention to the church's plight. 'I would just let her finish her conversation. 'I would just rather say that the Virgin Mary is talking to us,' Jonas told the Chicago Tribune. It's still $8 million in debt, though, and the congregation thought this might be the last week of services.Ī bankruptcy judge today approved the sale of the church building for $2.5 million, according to WGN, though some parishioners had hoped Mary's tears were a sign that another miracle would save it from being sold off. But it's struggled financially for some time-the church building was up for foreclosure last year before an anonymous donation allowed its doors to stay open. When these things happen, I feel like a little kid when first going into a candy factory-and you're just in awe.'įounded in 1897, Holy Trinity is the second oldest Greek Orthodox congregation in the United States.

'But to have it personally was very overwhelming. 'It's common throughout the Orthodox church to see a phenomena like that,' he added. Painting of the Virgin Mary with streaks of liquid running from her eyes Fr.