The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1920-11-13
SOME REAL CATHOLICS
CHICAGO WORKERS DO WITHOUT
LUNCH TO ATTEND MASS-EDI-
FLYING EXHIBITION OF cATHO.
Lie DEVOTION ON FEAST OF
ALL SAINTS.
(By n. G.. w. c. News Service. }


'Desplaines street st. Patrick's."
The rich brogue of the Adams street
car conductor might have added, "All
out" for as the car stopped the SO
passengers rung up on the dial swung
to the street and joined the throng
that damned the corner before the old
gray church, once the pride and glory
of Chicago's great West Side.
1t was 1910 noon of All Saints day,
and a nasty drizzle of rain overhead,
and the greasy, muddy stones of the
Desplaines street teaming thorough
fare made it most unpleasant. Still
before the old church was a jam of
taxicabs and private limousines,
trucks and light delivery motors,
parked while the owners and drivers
passed into the church.
Uniformed policemen on the wide,
high stone steps directed the throng
that had come across the river from
the loop district and from the nearby
factories and freight Offices for the
noon Mass, arranged by the Rev. Will
liam J. McNamee for the workers who
have to leave their outlying Or subur
ban homes too early to attend in their
own parishes.
5000 Push Into Church.
High Mass in the church. Low
Masses in the basement and in the
gymnasium" directed the city police
| men as the doors of the great edifice
swallowed up the throng of worship
pers by the thousand. Close to 5000
people pushed into the church and
chapels, for the three Masses, those
whose time was limited seeking the
low Masses, while those who had an
hour for lunch crowded into the main
church.
Inside they filled the pews, the
| benches that crowded the space be-
tween the front seats and the COM
| munion rail, then the chairs placed
| within the rail even up to the steps of
the altar itself. The choir gathered
about small organ under the pulpit
thus leaving the spacious choir gallery
for the worshippers, who, after filling
| all this space, stood crowding
shoulder to shoulder up and down the
| aisles, in the rear of the pews and out
in the entry to the outer DOORS.
AS an answer to the skeptic's claim
that religion is for the women, let il
be known that fully half of the wor
shippers in the main church were men
There were the managers from the
big stores in State street and Michigan
boulevard, and there were floor walk
ers, saleswomen and cash girls. There
We're heads of La Sale and Monrot
street banks, with clerks, stenogra
piers and messengers from these same
institutions. There were owners ant
foremen from the industrial distric
and workers from their plants. Their
were contractors from the public i'm
provements, and laborers off thes
jobs, white-collar men and blue-shir
men, kneeling side by side, VOL
shipping the same God before the sam
altar.
At 1885 by the clock on the pulp
front the communion was over, and
few hundred who probably had to b
back at their desks at 1916 went on
At 12:4O this congregation of strai
9 gers sang together the 20 Salutaris
and five minutes later, Benedictio
over, they raised their voices in tn
:, "Te Deum."
i. Hungry But Happy.
J. Again the doors swing open and til
t thousands pass out into the rain,
n taxicab, limousine, truck, deliver
l. wagon or street car, to resume the
/ work day life, for the observance
oil holy day is not for the driven wor
; ers of great cities. Over the Adam
II the Jackson, Monroe and Madisc
l. street bridges across the Chicago riv'
3 to Chicago's heart, the congested lo6
E. district, go the men and women, lunc
eI less, with their lunch time spent in Il
i; worship of their God, and their lunt
J. money spent in car fare or tossed in
,fl the contribution box. They face
t long, hungry afternoon but they ha'
done their duty,