St. Benedict Parish, 2207 W. Irving Park Rd., will be dedicating its newest building addition on Sunday, Oct. 28, starting with a Mass of Thanksgiving at noon celebrated by Bishop Edwin Conway, Vicar of Vicariate II of the Archdiocese of Chicago. Immediately after the Mass the bishop will lead pastor Father Robert Heidenreich, members of the parish staff and faculty, and many parishioners over to the new 42,000 square foot structure on the far southwest side of the block.
The new structure will house the pre-school on the first floor, and provide additional classrooms for middle school and high school on the second and third floors. There are also offices, a multi-purpose room for social events, labs for the sciences, an art room, a music room and a chapel. The center of activity Sunday will be in the new chapel, which overlooks the corner of Bell and Byron streets.
St. Benedict’s is one of the few parishes that operates an educational institution starting at pre-school and continuing all the way through high school. Almost 1,000 students will be attending this multi-level facility called the Schools of St. Benedict.
The three-story structure was built with a gift from an anonymous donor of $4.5 million. The remaining $500,000 needed will be provided by the parish as it repays a loan of that amount from the archdiocese.
In addition to the dedication of the new building, the parish will be celebrating the second anniversary of their centennial campaign honoring 100 years of service to the North Side. The parish has pledged more than $1.5 million to this campaign, which has been used to restore the interior of the church as well as to initiate many capital projects long overdue.
For more information about the dedication, call (773) 588-6484.
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