The Phoenix has long been a symbol of new life rising from the ashes of death. This symbol was memorialized in the restoration of the Kelly Hall YMCA mural, blessed by Bishop Bob on December 3rd. At a location that is known for tragedy, heartbreak, and death, there is now the story of new life and new beginnings.
The Our Lady of the Angels school fire occurred on December 1st, 1958. As a result of the fire, 92 children and three Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (BVMs) lost their lives. Hundreds of students survived, though most endured many wounds, physical or otherwise from experiencing the tragedy. The event marked a turning point in the neighborhood, and tore at the very fiber of a close-knit Italian, Polish and Irish community. The demographic shifts in the 60s and early 70s saw the complete changeover of the community, from predominantly blue-collar families to families living below the poverty line and struggling to find gainful employment.
The damaged OLA school was torn down after the fire, and then replaced with a beautiful, very flame-resistant building that was dedicated on October 2, 1960. After many years of being a Catholic school, it closed in 1999 and then housed a series of charter schools until 2016. Around that time, our community (the Franciscans of the Eucharist of Chicago) was in need of more space for our apostolate. The previous OLA school building was turned over to the Franciscans in 2017, and the renovations started soon thereafter. The renovated building, now christened “the Outreach Center” (the “OC” for us millennials), was dedicated on October 2nd, 2022, 62 years to the day of its original dedication. The whole renovation process was detailed in photo and word on our Mission website.
As a result of the rededication of the Outreach Center, as well as bringing back the memorial statue on May 31st, 2022, we made many connections with survivors and their supporters. These connections led to us hosting the annual anniversary Mass at the OLA church in December 2022. It was our great privilege to host the anniversary Mass again at OLA this year on December 3rd. The holy Mass is the perfect tribute to such a tragedy and to such a place as this – it is the story of the phoenix par excellence! Christ endured a terrible, gruesome death – but from such tragedy arose the greatest source of hope, His Resurrection! It is the essence of the Mass – and through the Mass, we unite our story to His.
A truly special feature of this year was the restoration of the Kelly Hall YMCA mural. The original mural was painted in the 1970s as a tribute to two fires affecting the local community — the OLA school fire in 1958, and the fire of a local Baptist church around the same time. The Chicago Metro Y (formerly YMCA) facilitated the mural restoration by finding a local artist while Northwestern Medicine sponsored the efforts to restore the painting to its original vibrancy. What became very evident in the restoration was the prominence of the phoenix, arising from the flames and ashes of the two fires. After the memorial Mass, the attendees processed solemnly down the street to Kelly Hall, and Bishop Bob blessed it, asking it to serve as a beacon of hope in our neighborhood. May the Lord send His Holy Spirit among us to bring new life to our neighborhood and to all connected with Our Lady of the Angels!
One last tribute – the Royal Airs Drum and Bugle Corps was a neighborhood youth organization in the 50s and 60s. Three of their members were students that perished in the OLA school fire. As a result, the drum and bugle corps had a tradition of honoring its fallen members at each of their performances. Many years after they disbanded, they reformed in the early 2000s, and honor their fallen OLA members by performing taps at the gravesites of the children at Queen of Heaven cemetery around the day of the anniversary. Sister Jaime and Sister Jess had the privilege of attending this solemn, reverent ceremony this year.
