Mission of Our Lady of the Angels will Host a Rededication Mass and Blessing of its Newly Renovated Outreach Center on Sunday, Oct. 2, 2022
Chicago – (Sept. 28, 2022) – Mission of Our Lady of the Angels will host a rededication Mass and blessing of its newly renovated outreach center on Sunday, Oct. 2, 2022. Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, will preside over the 10 a.m. Mass and lead the subsequent blessing of the building. The Outreach Center is housed on the grounds of the former school building at 3814 W. Iowa St. in Chicago.
The building is rededicated in honor of the 95 victims who died in the tragic Dec. 1, 1958 fire, which stunned the nation and caused revisions of school fire codes across the country. October 2 is the 62nd anniversary of the original dedication of the Our Lady of the Angels School building and it is also the feast day of the Guardian Angels.
“We are grateful for the enormous outpouring of support and generosity of so many that made this renovation possible,” said Auxiliary Bishop Robert Lombardo, founder and director of Mission OLA. “We look forward to using this building for the mission of the Church.”
The three-story, 70,000-square-foot building will be used to accommodate a weekly food pantry, ground-level storage for donations, a new kitchen and dining room, a chapel for Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration, offices and classroom space for neighborhood programs for adults, and a new 45-bedroom volunteer residence and retreat space.
The former OLA school building officially became part of the Mission during the summer of 2017. Official renovations of the building began in May 2018. A timeline of the five-year renovation process can be found here: https://missionola.com/school.html
The Franciscans at Mission OLA have provided a Catholic presence in West Humboldt Park, one of Chicago’s poorest neighborhoods, since Sept. 1, 2010. The Mission’s renovated Outreach Center includes a weekly food pantry that serves more than 3,000 families each month, a retreat center, and offices and classrooms for programs benefiting residents of West Humboldt Park. With the renovation complete, Mission OLA is able to expand its greatly needed outreach services to the local community.
