Saint John Cantius Church, Chicago, has also been featured in two films that were both shot in the Summer and Fall of 1990. The first was a made-for-television movie, entitled "Johnny Ryan". The second was a major
. Work began on this grandiose structure in the Spring of 1893 and was completed by 1898. The building has a façade of rusticated
. At the very top, is a monumental
(1863-1864), under which is found the Polish inscription "Boże Zbaw Polskę" (God Save Poland).
Just below this, on the Entablature, is the Latin inscription "Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam", a text which proclaims that this building is for "The Greater Glory Of God", a
Jesuit motto, popular in many Churches built around the start of the 20th-Century. Three
Romanesque Portals, set in receding Arches, lead into the Interior. Like
Saint Michael's, Chicago, the entrance is flanked by two asymmetrical Towers, topped with
Copper Cupolas, styled after
Saint Mary's Basilica in Kraków, Poland. The whole structure is 230 feet (70 m) long and 107 feet (33 m) wide and can easily accommodate 2,000 people.
The Interior reflects the
High Renaissance Style of the Exterior. Eight stone
Columns, with
Corinthian Capitals, support the Vault. The present decoration is the result of several Interior decorations within the first forty years of completion. The Church's High Altar, as well as its matching two Side Altars, reputedly originate from the
1893 Columbian Exposition.
In 1903, the Interior was painted for the first time, and it was at this time that all the
plaster and
wood ornaments were added, and the Church received the character it has today. The
Stained-Glass Windows were made by Gawin Co. of
Milwaukee, while the Interior
murals were painted by Lesiewicz, around 1920. In addition to religious scenes, such as The
Resurrection under The High Altar, the artist decorated the side walls with paintings of Polish Patron Saints.
Saint John Cantius Church, Chicago, United States of America.
A new inlaid
hardwood floor was installed in Saint John Cantius Church in 1997, to a design by Jed Gibbons . Sixteen varieties of
wood from around the World were used for the inlaid medallions. The floor is not only a beautiful contemporary work of
Sacred Art, but it is also designed as a teaching tool. The medallions, inlaid into the main
Aisle, tell the story of Salvation:
Star of David -
Jesus was born as a
Jew; Three
Crowns - with the arrival of The
Three Kings, Jesus was made manifest to the World; Instruments of The
Passion - Christ's suffering for our Salvation; Banner - The
Resurrection; Star - Christ is The Light of the World. This floor, which is reputedly the only one of its kind in the United States, has already won three national awards.
In 2003, work was completed on a replica of The
Veit Stoss Altar. Carved by artist Michael Batkiewicz over an eight-year period, this imposing one-third scale copy is the largest and most detailed work of its kind, and was commissioned as a tribute to the
Galician immigrants who founded the Parish in 1893.
English: The Altarpiece of Veit Stoss (Polish: Ołtarz Wita Stwosza, German: Krakauer Hochaltar), also Saint Mary's Altar (Ołtarz Mariacki), is the largest Gothic Altarpiece in the World and a National Treasure of Poland. It is located behind The High Altar of Saint Mary's Basilica, Cracow, Poland. The Altarpiece was carved between 1477 and 1489 by the German sculptor Veit Stoss (Wit Stwosz), who moved to the City around that time and lived there for the next twenty years. The Retable was paid for by the Townspeople of Cracow. In 1941, during the German occupation, the dismantled Altar was shipped to The Third Reich, on the order of Hans Frank – the Governor-General of that part of occupied Poland. It was recovered in 1946, in Bavaria, South Germany, hidden in the basement of the heavily-bombed Nuremberg Castle. The High Altar underwent major restoration work in Poland and was put back in its place at the Basilica ten years later.
Polski: Kraków, ołtarz Wita Stwosza.
Photo: June 2003.
Source: Own work.
(Wikimedia Commons)
A permanent exhibit of
Sacred Art, located in the Church's North Tower, is open on Sundays, as well as upon special request. The Collection's centerpiece is an elaborate Neapolitan "praesepio" (Italian
creche) from Rome. Among Saint John Cantius's many other treasures are: A 19th-Century Copy of the
icon of
Our Lady of Częstochowa, adorned with jewelled
Crowns, personally Blessed by
Pope Saint John Paul II; a reproduction of the famous miraculous
Crucifix from Limpus, Portugal; a 19th-Century
Pietà from
Bavaria, Germany; a hand-written Altar Missal; as well as several hundred authenticated
Relics of
Saints.
English: Marian Feast Day at Saint John Cantius, Chicago, United States of America.
España: Festival Mariano en San Juan Cantius (Chicago) | Una Voce Cordoba.
The following Text is from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.
Saint John Cantius.
Confessor.
Feast Day 20 October.
Double.
White Vestments.
English: Saint John Cantius.
Photo: 3 December 2004.
Source: Own work.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Born at Kenty, a Market Town in the Diocese of Cracow, Poland, Saint John was raised up by Providence to keep alight The Torch of Faith and The Flame of Christian Charity during the 15th-Century in Poland.
He obtained all the Academic Degrees at the University of Cracow, where he taught for several years. Ordained a Priest, he every day offered The Holy Sacrifice to appease Heavenly Justice, for he was deeply afflicted by the offences of men against God.
He shone especially by his exquisite Charity, which is shown in the Introit, the Collects, the Epistle, the Gradual, the Offertory and the Communion of his Mass. He took from his own food, to help those who were in need, and even gave them his clothes and shoes (Epistle); and he would let his cloak fall to the ground, so as not to be seen returning home bare-foot.
While on a Pilgrimage to Rome, he was robbed by brigands, and, when he declared that he had no other possessions, they allowed him to pursue his journey. The Saint, who had sewn some pieces of money into his cloak, suddenly remembered this, and, calling the thieves, he offered them the sum. But they, touched by his goodness and candour, gave him back all that they had taken.
Saint John Cantius died on Christmas Eve, 1473. He is especially invoked in cases of consumption.
["Owing to your Prayers, we see epidemics disappear, stubborn diseases averted, and The Blessing of Health restored. Those whom consumption, fever and ulcers condemn to a painful end are, by you, delivered from the embraces of death." (Hymn of Second Vespers)].
Mass: Miserátio hóminis.
