The editors of U.S. Catholic magazine invite you to join them for a free talk by Deborah Kanter to discuss Chicago Católico: Making Catholic Parishes Mexican, just out from the University of Illinois Press. Kanter, a native Chicagoan, is professor of history at Albion College in Michigan where she teaches Latin American, U.S. Latino, and immigration history. Her talk is this Tuesday, October 27, 2020 at 5 p.m. CST. For more information, visit USCatholic.org/kanter or watch at Facebook.com/uscatholic .
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| Kanter's book focuses on Mexican ethnic succession on the Near West Side and Pilsen, looking at the story from the perspective of the parishioners. |
Read Malachy McCarthy's review, reprinted from History Notes, Vol. 3, No. 1, the newsletter of the Claretian Missionaries Archives USA-Canada:
Deborah Kanter's book Chicago Católico: Making Catholic Parishes Mexican [Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2020], offers new insights and knowledge about the struggles of Chicago's Mexican Catholic community. Relying on oral history and dogged research, Kanter relates an account that few have considered: the social and religious impact of a new immigrant community on the urban environment. Her work draws heavily from manuscripts and photographs found in the Claretian Archives.
By focusing on Chicago's Near West Side and Pilsen neighborhoods, she shares a Claretian story. In 1924, Claretians arrived in Chicago to exclusively minister to the region's Spanish-speaking Catholic population . With Saint Francis of Assisi on the Near West Side, the Claretians provided a home to newly-arrived people of Mexican Descent. Due to its location, the Church became a vibrant center for the Mexican community. Immediately parishioners claimed ownership of the parish which replicated Mexican religious practices.
First generation Mexican Americans lived a hybrid culture, Mexican and American. During the Second World War, Saint Francis teens published the Saint Francis Crier which connected soldiers to their home parish. The opening of the Saint Francis Social Center gymnasium in 1948 bridged the gap as social groups and athletic teams provided a space where Mexican-American youth could navigate Chicago's pluralistic society. However, Saint Francis' primacy was compromised by the construction of the Congress Avenue Expressway (i.e. Eisenhower Expressway) and construction of the University of Illinois at Chicago's new campus. Both projects eliminated neighborhoods and the church became a symbolic worship site, as communicants returned on weekends to attend church. Saint Francis retained its prominent position as many parishioners longed for the solicitude found at Chicago's Mexican Cathedral.
During the 1950s, the Pilsen neighborhood became Chicago's Mexican American neighborhood. Populated by a variety of nationalities, the newly arrived Catholics had to navigate worship in spaces unfamiliar for Spanish-speaking communicants. Initially receiving a hostile reception, Mexicans took advantage of the large parochial schools for their children and gradually became part of the Church's infrastructure. By the 1960s, young Eastern European families departed the district for the suburbs, resulting in the formation of a Mexican streetscape. Buoyed by the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, Spanish-speaking Catholics became the predominant religious community.
The Via Crucis, Pilsen's Good Friday service, symbolized Mexican religious succession in Pilsen. Kanter's book clearly outlines the evolving religious landscape through personal stories and the community's ability to creatively adapt to their new surroundings. The book is available from online booksellers and the University of Illinois Press, https://www.press.uillinois.edu
