St. Wenceslaus in Chicago
| St. Wenceslaus Church | |
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 St. Wenceslaus Church
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| Coordinates: 41°56′36″N 87°43′11″W / 41.9432°N 87.7196°W | |
| Location | 3400 North Monticello Avenue Chicago, Illinois |
| Country | United States |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Website | St. Wenceslaus's Parish |
| History | |
| Founded | June 1912 |
| Founder(s) | Polish immigrants |
| Dedication | St. Wenceslaus |
| Dedicated | June 7, 1942 |
| Consecrated | |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | For Polish immigrants |
| Architect(s) | McCarthy, Smith and Eppig |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Byzantine & Romanesque |
| Groundbreaking | March 27, 1940 |
| Completed | |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Brick |
St. Wenceslaus (Polish: Kościół Świętego Wacława) is a church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago located at 3400 North Monticello Avenue in the Avondale neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois.
One of the many Polish churches visible from the Kennedy Expressway, is along with St. Hyacinth Basilica, one of two monumental religious edifices that dominates the Avondale skyline. It is well known for its unique architecture, as well as being the site where photographer and historic preservationist Richard Nickel was married.
Although the historic church is a stop for many of the tourists visiting the landmark Villa District, this majestic Romanesque-Art Deco hybrid is actually a few blocks south of the district's formal boundaries. St Wenceslaus is accessible via the Blue Line's Addison street station.
St. Wenceslaus was founded in 1912 as a Polish parish to relieve overcrowding at St. Hyacinth parish, which first met in a small wooden frame structure at Roscoe Street and Lawndale Avenue. The present church was built in 1942 and was the first church to be consecrated by the newly appointed Cardinal Samuel Stritch in the Archdiocese of Chicago. One of Chicago's Polish Patches, the Polish term for the surrounding neighborhood, Wacławowo derives from the Polish name for the church's patron, Saint Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia. In recent years, the ethnic character of St. Wenceslaus parish has undergone a gradual change from an exclusively Polish parish to one that is multicultural and multiracial, as the neighborhood first witnessed an influx of Hispanic and Filipino immigrants during the 1990s and later began to experience minor pockets of gentrification. Today Mass is celebrated in three languages: English, Polish and Spanish. St. Wenceslaus has been administered by the Congregation of the Resurrection since July 2000.
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Wikipedia