Our efforts here are for an interior restoration and beautification of the existing 1927 church by Henry Schlacks located near the University of Chicago. Schlacks was the pre-eminent Catholic church architect of Chicago in the early 20th century and a close friend of Cardinal Mundelein. His design for the Shrine of Christ the King (originally called St. Clara) is a tour-de-force of Roman classicism on the exterior. Our designs for the interior are meant to continue this tradition with reference to the great churches of Rome.
The Shrine is home to the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, a priestly institute founded in 1990 and now serving dioceses around the world. The Institute was invited by Cardinal George (dec.) of Chicago to restore this church and make it a center of spiritual activity for the Institute and this reviving Woodlawn neighborhood on the south side.
A devastating fire in October of 2015 destroyed nearly everything but the exterior walls of the church. This expanded the scope of our work from a renovation to overseeing the stabilization as well as the restoration of this historic church with a fully new roof and an interior which remains sympathetic to Schlacks's design.
