For All Saints Day, I went to Queen of All Saints Basilica on the far north side of Chicago.
Queen of All Saints is one of three minor basilicas in the Archdiocese of Chicago, a title which, as near as I can tell, means that the church is quite attractive and entitles the clergy to be at the front of the line during certain ecclesiastical processions.
The church is quite nice and is made all the more attractive thanks to a large open field of maybe eight acres between it and Devon Avenue, which of course, I didn’t think to include in any photos until it was too late.
The interior shows off the neo-gothic style of the church, although it’s apparently undergoing some renovations as there is some large scaffolding in place in the sanctuary, I think so they can do work on the stained glass windows.
The Mass I attended turned out to be the All Souls Memorial Mass which began with the recitation of the names of all those buried from the church along with close family members of parishioners not buried from the church, 160-some names in all, and a special mid-Mass prayer of remembrance. In addition, there was a display of reliquaries in the sanctuary, presumably from the morning’s All Saints Mass.
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