St. Mary of Częstochowa in Cicero () is an historic church of the Archdiocese of Chicago located in Cicero, Illinois.
It is a prime example of the Polish Cathedral style of churches in both its opulence and grand scale. A sculpture of Christ the King by famed sculptor Professor Czesław Dźwigaj, who also cast the monumental bronze doors at St. Hyacinth's Basilica in Chicago stands in front of the church. The church is also well known as the site where Al Capone's sister Mafalda married in 1930.
The parish of St. Mary of Częstochowa serves a diverse population. A number of parishioners, still actively involved, lay claim to having parents and grandparents who pioneered the parish. A young Polish immigrant population, although not living in the area, have strong ties to the Black Madonna and call St. Mary of Częstochowa their spiritual home. Just as great numbers of Poles and Germans settled in the Hawthorne neighborhood of Cicero over a hundred years ago, so today large numbers of people from Mexico have settled here, and the Hispanic presence is very much part of the parish. St. Mary of Częstochowa offers mass in Polish, Spanish and English and is currently home to 1,450 families.
History
The parish of St. Mary of Częstochowa was founded as a Polish parish in 1895, but the Polish community in Hawthorne in Cicero, Illinois dates from the 1880s when the area was still prairie. The Polish settlement in Hawthorne centered around the Dolese & Shepherd lime and stone quarry at 31st and Cicero Avenue. Hawthorne's Polish Catholics walked over five miles to St. Adalbert's at 16th and Allport Streets in Chicago in order to attend Masses in their native tongue. With the formation of St. Casimir Church at 22nd and Whipple Streets in 1890, their trip shortened to three and a half miles, yet they longed for a parish of their own. The only Catholic parish in Cicero was then St. Dionysius, a predominantly German parish at 4852 West 29th Street, established as a mission of Holy Trinity Church in Chicago in 1889.
On March 27, 1892, Polish Catholics of Hawthorne met to discuss plans for a parish. By May 1893, the group purchased six lots at 30th Street and Linden (now 49th) Avenue at a cost of $2,250. Subsequently, it sent a delegation to Archbishop Patrick A. Feehan to petition for a parish. Archbishop Feehan granted the request and appointed Rev. Casimir A. Slominski as pastor. A former assistant at St. Adalbert's, Father Slominski began his work in Cicero on May 30, 1895.
Stephen Bartoszek, one of the pioneer parishioners, transformed his hall at the northwest corner of Jessamine (now 48th Court) and 30th Street into a combination church-school and he offered the rear flat as living quarters for the pastor. In this temporary church, Father Slominski celebrated Mass and administered the sacraments until a frame church was built a few months later. In July 1898, Father Slominski directed the construction of a one-room frame building behind the church. This structure, known as the parish hall, also served as a school.
When Father Slominski resigned because of poor health in 1899, Rev. Leo Wyrzykowski was named pastor of St. Mary of Częstochowa Church. Father Slominski later organized St. Ann Church at 18th Place and Leavitt Street in Chicago where he served as pastor from 1903 to 1921.
In 1902, the mission of St. Attracta was established at 13th Street and 48th Court for English-speaking Catholics who lived in the northeast section of Cicero, then known as the Grant Works area. In 1903, the Western Electric Company opened a plant in Hawthorne at 22nd Street (Cermak Road) and Cicero Avenue and it quickly became the largest employer in Cicero. Over the years, the Western Electric Company provided jobs for thousands of immigrants of many nationalities.
Following Father Wyrzykowski's appointment as pastor of St. Mary of Gostyń Church in Downers Grove, Illinois (now in the Joliet diocese) in July 1904, Rev. Bronislaus Czajkowski became pastor of St. Mary of Częstochowa Church. Prior to this assignment, he had served as an assistant at the Polish parish of St. Mary of Perpetual Help in Chicago.
The new pastor found that the frame church and school had become inadequate and as a temporary measure, converted the parish hall behind the church into two classrooms. In August 1904, the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Third order of Francis of Assisi began their work in the parish school which previously had been staffed by lay teachers.
