Muslims seek to purchase historic Catholic church in Chicago

A Roman Catholic church in Chicago. Photo: Nadig Newspapers

The Islamic Community Center of Illinois (ICCI) has begun raising funds to acquire the building of a closed Catholic church in Chicago. The Muslim organization plans to transform the former church into a high school, which it describes as a “long-awaited milestone” for the Islamic community on the city's North Side, according to LifeSiteNews.

The church was dedicated to Our Lady of Victory, a title of the Virgin Mary associated with the historic Battle of Lepanto. In 1571, Christian forces defeated the fleet of the Ottoman Empire under her patronage, halting further Islamic expansion into Europe. The building, once associated with that victory, is now expected to become an Islamic high school – “a long-awaited milestone for our community,” as the ICCI's fundraising page states.

Founded in 1906, the parish became a casualty of the parish consolidation program implemented by Cardinal Blase Cupich. Despite strong opposition from parishioners and even an appeal to the Vatican, the church was permanently closed in 2021. All sacred images were subsequently removed from the building, including a large statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was transferred to another parish.

Prominent Catholic commentator Taylor Marshall described the situation as "as part of a larger pattern." “Why do Catholic bishops keep selling the churches of Christ to Muslims? Is it a humiliation ritual?”

Accoridng to the publication, Catholic church “consolidation” closures have been ramping up in recent years, often without serious efforts to remedy underlying financial or attendance problems, or without adequate grounds to order closures in the first place. Sales of Catholic churches to Muslims have been growing as well.

As the UOJ previously reported, some Catholic clergy have attempted to justify such sales by arguing that Christians and Muslims “worship the same God,” while members of the conservative wing of the Catholic Church have explicitly described this position as a theological error.

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