MKB Architects to Renovate Oldest Italian-American Parish in Chicago’s Little Italy Neighborhood

The oldest Italian-American community in Chicago’s Little Italy neighborhood is seeking a 21st-century revitalization. With the designs being presented to the parish, The Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii anticipates joining the “beauty of the past” with the “creativity of the present”. Proposed initial renderings of the interior renovation/restoration envision the sanctuary with a new accessible altar platform, new confessional, and a new reliquary and restored shrine area dedicated to Bartolo Longo. The design is awaiting approval by the parish.

In the early 1900s, Italian immigrants created the Little Italy neighborhood in Chicago. In 1911, the Italian-Catholic community founded an Italian national parish. In 1923, they built neo-Romanesque church Our Lady of Pompeii. Cardinal Bernadin, the Archbishop of Chicago, inaugurated to an Archdiocesan Shrine to Our Lady of Pompeii in 1984.  honor faithful memories of Italian community from past to future as a gift of the Italian-American community

MKB Architects looks forward to working further with the community, ensuring that the Shrine’s legacy and Italian-Catholic heritage is a spiritual home for generations to come.

 

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