Roman Catholic institutions in Chicago demonstrate tremendous locational stability over time, being part of a religious organization with a centralized bureaucracy governing though a hierarchical and territorial system. The church-owned structures in St. Aloysius Parish, on the city's near northwest side, illustrate how an ecclesiastical 'precinct' has developed through the accumulation of activities and requisite buildings over time. Covering all or parts of four city blocks, the religious campus had come by 1951 to consist of the parish church, a rectory, a parochial grade school, Josephine High School with chapel, St. Elizabeth's Hospital, with Sacristy and Convent, and additional ground for a new church (since built). Different cultural groups have come and gone in the surrounding neighborhoods, but they have been substantially Catholic-oriented, so the parish has continued to serve a function in that location, despite great social change. The accumulation of buildings over time testifies to the precinct's relative stability.

Author: Michael P. Conzen (Research assistance: Ray Gadke)
Source: Newberry Library