St. Rita of Cascia Shrine-Chapel

St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel has its origins in 1905, when Archbishop James E. Quigley of Chicago invited the Augustinian Order to establish its first foundation west of the Appalachian Mountains. Rev. James F. Green, O.S.A., was sent to Chicago that year to start the work in the sparsely settled southwest section of the city. By 1906, the original church, school and monastery buildings had been completed on the St. Rita of Cascia Parish and High School campus, and the Shrine of St. Rita was formally established in 1905 at 63rd Street and Oakley Avenue. The relics of St. Rita were acquired in 1906 and the original glass-eyed statue of St. Rita — among the first Catholic statues ever made with glass eyes to give it a realistic appearance — arrived in 1909. Stained glass windows flanking the statue today depict the thorns and roses of St. Rita and the official seal of the Augustinian Order, and both windows date to 1932. In 1909, the parish's growth led to the establishment of three mission churches in the surrounding neighborhoods: St. Clare of Montefalco, St. Nicholas of Tolentine, and St. Gall (each of which later became its own parish). In 1916, St. Rita of Cascia Parish moved into its own dedicated building a few blocks west, while the original complex continued to serve as the high school and monastery. As the 20th century progressed, demographic shifts on Chicago's Southwest Side gradually reshaped the parish community; by the 1980s the majority of parishioners were Hispanic immigrants from Mexico, and that demographic identity continues today at the parish (located at 6243 S. Fairfield Avenue). The Shrine Chapel itself, however, remained on the original St. Rita of Cascia High School campus, and in 1990 it was relocated to the school's current location at 77th Street and Western Avenue. A major milestone came in the Year of Our Lord 2000, the 100th anniversary of St. Rita's canonization (1900), when the present-day Shrine Chapel was beautifully renovated. The renovation — designed and carried out by Un-Real, Inc. of 3514 W. 111th Street, Chicago — constructed the present shrine prayer space and redecorated the entire sanctuary. It also incorporated the original 1906 reliquary (containing a first-class relic of St. Rita), the 1909 statue, and the 1932 stained glass from the old Shrine on 63rd Street into the new space. New hanging banners were added to depict the life story of St. Rita, from baptism through her vocation as a wife, mother, widow and finally as an Augustinian nun. On April 15, 2007, the St. Rita Monastery Community hosted a Dedication Mass to bless nine new shrines that line the chapel walls. The blessing was celebrated by Bishop John Michael Botean, the Romanian Catholic Bishop of the United States and a friend of the Augustinians, who individually anointed each shrine image with Holy Chrism. The nine shrines depict St. Patrick, St. Francis Xavier Cabrini, St. Pope John Paul II, St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, St. Monica, St. Martin de Porres, Our Mother of Good Counsel, and Our Lady of Częstochowa. Under the art direction of Mr. Jim Rouen of Un-Real, Inc., Chicago, the shrines were executed as a combination of Byzantine mosaics in hand-cut Italian glass by artist Joe Folise of Morton Grove, sculptures and mosaics by Daprato Rigali Studios and Evan Lewis Studios of Chicago, and a glass statue imported from Italy. Each shrine was donated by families whose names appear on engraved biographies beneath the artwork. On December 12, 2007, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Bishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller, M.Sp.S. — then Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago — celebrated a special all-school Mass and dedicated three more shrines inside the Shrine Chapel. The first was an Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine featuring a hand-painted replica of the image enshrined in Mexico, donated by Bishop Gustavo himself and partly funded by Mr. Anthony Spalla and family. The second was a Shrine of St. Augustine donated by Mrs. Jane Nedvar. The third was the Augustinian Tree of Life, a sculptural installation over the main chapel doors whose leaves bear the names of all the Augustinian Blessed and Saints, also overseen by Joe Folise. Together these two installations of 2007 renewed the visual and devotional center of the Shrine Chapel and continue to draw visitors from across the region to the monthly Perpetual Novena to St. Rita of Cascia. In 2025–2026, the Shrine Chapel gained further prominence when its longtime director, Fr. Tom McCarthy, O.S.A. '83 — a St. Rita High School alumnus and former teacher, principal and president — was elected Prior Provincial of the Midwest Augustinian Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel on December 22, 2025, and was installed in the Shrine Chapel itself on June 10, 2026.