Old St. Mary's New Parish Center to Open May 6th

Old St. Mary's New Parish Ground Breaking Ceremony

A reader writes:

Just wanted to alert you that Old St. Mary’s new parish center is open to the community starting May 6 with a dedication.

The press release we received had some additional info we found interesting:

The Church was founded in 1833 and in 2002 the parish community proudly dedicated their new church on South Michigan Avenue. But the parish wasn’t done yet. It became clear that there would be a need for an educational ministry as the demand for a quality Catholic education in the South Loop and Loop as a whole was strong. Today, there is a growing group of young families in the parish and within the community that are committed to living in the city who have personally experienced or know the value of Catholic education and want to give this experience to their children.  

The Church’s journey timeline includes the following milestones: 

• May 6, 2016 marks the completion of the vision for the Church: the dedication and formal opening of the Parish Center. The 17,000 square foot Parish Center addresses the needs of the growing parish including a space for workshops, pastoral meetings and parish committee meetings as well as a gymnasium to serve the school for athletic programs and performing arts. 

• In 2004 Old St. Mary’s School opened its doors to its first preschool class of 18 children – the “new” school was housed in a 100-year-old revamped furniture warehouse adjacent to the parish offices. 

• In 2011, a brand-new Old St. Mary’s School opened with more than 200 students -- now more than double that are enrolled in preschool through 8 th grade. 

The dedication is open to the public and begins at 2:00 p.m. Central on Friday, May 6, 2016 at 1500 South Michigan Avenue.

Also for some additional background we posted on this topic back in May of 2015.

(Hat tip: AB!)