January 14: St. Monica's Catholic Church

Welcome to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Today is January 14th, and our story is St. Monica's Catholic Church. In 1882, the St. Augustine Society of Chicago hosted a bazaar to raise funds for a new church building. Nothing unusual about that, right? Wrong. The St. Augustine Society of Chicago was no ordinary society. It was an apostolate that sought to encourage black Catholics in the city and evangelize other black Chicagoans. Likewise, the church they sought to build was no ordinary church. It would be the first parish in both the city and the nation constructed exclusively for the Black Catholic community.

At the time, although Black Catholics could worship at any parish in Chicago, many preferred to attend Mass with other Black Catholics in the basement of St. Mary's Church on 9th and Wabash. Over time, a desire in the community for their own parish and pastor grew, hence the fundraising bazaar. Thanks to that bazaar and generous gifts from the Chicago Catholic community, that desire was realized on January 14, 1894, when the newly constructed St. Monica's Catholic Church on 35th and Dearborn was dedicated.

The congregation's pastor was Father Augustus Tolton, the first Catholic priest in the United States to self-identify as black. Others, of mixed heritage, chose to identify as white. Eight years later, Mother Catherine Drexel and five of her sisters of the Blessed Sacrament arrived at the parish to help found St. Monica's Catholic School. Within a year, 200 students were enrolled. By 1922, that number had risen to nearly 500, while Easter mass attendance at St. Monica's topped out at 1,200. No longer able to accommodate its growing population, St.

Monica's merged with nearby St. Elizabeth's, which soon became known as the mother church for the city's black Catholics. Today, St. Elizabeth's remains a vital center for black Catholics in Chicago, as both a parish and a school. Father Augustus Tolton was declared venerable by Pope Francis in 2019.

The story of St. Monica's shows the power of faith to unite and uplift communities, even in the face of systemic challenges. Father Tolton and the parishioners built not only a church, but a home for worship, education, and cultural identity. True ministry often responds to the needs of the marginalized, creating spaces where faith can flourish for everyone.

The story of St. Monica's reminds us that faith can be a powerful agent of community, justice, and hope. Today, look for ways to support or celebrate diversity in your parish or community today. Consider volunteering, donating, or simply learning more about its history.

Thank you for listening to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Join us tomorrow, January 15th, for another story of faith and courage in America.