page_title: Holy Cross Church (Chicago)
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Holy Cross Church (Chicago) / History
caption_attribution_description: English: " Holy Cross - (Lithuanian) Hermitage Avenue and 46th"--Photograph verso.
context_page_description: Holy Cross Church (Chicago), referred to in Lithuanian as Šv. Kryžiaus Bažnyčia, is a historic church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago located on West 46th Street in Chicago, Illinois. Built by Lithuanian immigrants, it bears a striking resemblance to many of Chicago's so-called "Polish Cathedrals" by virtue of the common heritage Poles and Lithuanians shared during the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and reflected in their architectural tastes. Recently, Holy Cross merged with the nearby Immaculate Heart of Mary Church on 45th and Ashland to make one parish, Holy Cross - Immaculate Heart of Mary.
context_section_description: At the turn of the 20th century, immigrants from Lithuania had been settling down in the Back of the Yards area for over a decade. Between 1870 and 1880, around 10,000 residents moved to Lake Township (referred to as "Taunleikis" by Lithuanians). Even after the township ceased to exist when it was annexed to the City of Chicago in 1889, new residents continued settling in the area, which was economically tied to the Union Stock Yards. Lithuanian immigrants formed a distinct settlement in the vicinity of the intersection of 47th Street and Ashland Avenue, in addition to the blocks northwest of that intersection. 
  By February 6, 1902, a group of Lithuanians formed the Society of St. Vincent Ferrer. A committee, consisting of Lithuanians, was created, and the group approached Archbishop Quigley with a desire to create a Lithuanian parish. Quigley agreed to the request, and on February 1, 1904, ten lots on 46th Street between Hermitage and Wood Streets were purchased by the Society of St Vincent Ferrer. On June 16, 1904, Alexander Skrypko started organizing the new parish. Holy Cross was founded in 1904 as a "national parish" for Lithuanians in Chicago living in the Back of the Yards area, most of whom were employed at the nearby Union Stock Yards. By 1909, Skyrpko, referred to as "Skripka", was being assisted by Reverend Ezerskis. On October 26, 1913, Quigley laid the new church's cornerstone. The church was completed in 1915, and the first mass celebrated in it occurred on Wednesday, September 15, 1915, the feast day of Our Lady of Sorrows. The parish fell on hard times in the 1970s after the closure of the stockyards, resulting in a merger with the neighboring parish of The Immaculate Heart of Mary. In 2004 the parish celebrated its 100-year anniversary. 
  Today, the parish is largely Latino and uses both churches for worship as well as a wide variety of activities, with around 3,000 parishioners turning out for mass each weekend.
caption: Holy Cross Church in 1914, just before it was completed.
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