In Chicago, Muslims are buying a Catholic church

A Roman Catholic church in Chicago. Photo: Nadig Newspapers

The Islamic Community Center of Illinois (ICCI) has launched a fundraising campaign to purchase the building of a closed Catholic church in Chicago. The Muslim group plans to turn the former church into a high school, which is expected to become a “long-awaited milestone” for the Islamic community on the city’s North Side. This was reported by Life Site News.

The church was consecrated in honor of “Our Lady of Victory,” a title of the Mother of God established after the historic Battle of Lepanto. In 1571, it was under this name that Christian forces defeated the fleet of the Ottoman Empire, halting Islamic expansion in Europe. Now, however, the building symbolizing victory over Islam will become a center for its spread.

The church, founded in 1906, fell victim to the parish “consolidation” policy pursued by Cardinal Blase Cupich. Despite desperate protests from the faithful and even an appeal to the Vatican, the church was permanently closed in 2021. All sacred images had already been hastily removed from the building, including a large statue of the Blessed Virgin, which was transferred to another parish.

Well-known Catholic commentator Taylor Marshall called what is happening a “ritual of humiliation.” “Why do Catholic bishops keep selling the churches of Christ to Muslims?” he asks. At the same time, the Chicago hierarchy remains silent, refusing to comment on the details of the deal until it is completed.

Some Catholic clergy try to justify such deals by claiming that Christians and Muslims supposedly “worship the same God”, although the conservative wing of Catholics directly calls this a theological error.

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