Our Lady of Sorrows Basilica
Our Lady of Sorrows Basilica (officially: the Basilica of Our Lady of Sorrows) is a Catholic basilica on the west side of Chicago, Illinois, which houses the National Shrine of Saint Peregrine, a national shrine. Located at 3121 West Jackson Boulevard, within the Archdiocese of Chicago, it is, along with St. Hyacinth and Queen of All Saints, one of only three churches in Illinois designated by the Pope with the title of basilica. It is also one of two "Black basilicas" in the United States, the other being the Basilica of Saint Mary of the  Immaculate Conception in Norfolk, Virginia. History. Founded in 1874, it has been administered by the Servite fathers for its entire history. Ground was broken for the current building on June 17, 1890 and the church was dedicated on January 5, 1902. The Parish served an Irish and Italian congregation for many years. The sorrowful mother novena was a major devotion at the parish during the first half of the 20th century, drawing worshippers from across the country and reaching many more listeners by radio. The church also houses the National Shrine of St. Peregrine, the patron of those suffering from  cancer. In the 1960s and 1970s the parish became predominantly African-American. The Basilica was used for a brief scene in the 1987 film "The Untouchables" in which Sean Connery's character explains "The Chicago Way" to Kevin Costner's character. Architecture. The church was designed in an Italian Renaissance Revival architectural style by Henry Engelbert, John F. Pope, and William J. Brinkmann. It features a barrel-vaulted ceiling that wraps around a high altar made entirely of Carrara marble. It was declared a basilica by the Vatican in 1956. In architecture books. Our Lady of Sorrows Basilica is featured  in a number of books on Chicago architecture, most notably "The AIA Guide to Chicago" by Alice Sinkevitch (Harvest Books 2004). It is also in a number of books devoted to church architecture, among them: