Virgin Mary statue returns home, to former Our Lady of Angels school

A Virgin Mary statue returns to its previous home at the Our Lady of Angels Parish. Photo credit Chicago Catholic

By Rob Hart

(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A Chicago fire truck carried a special passenger on a journey through the West Side Tuesday.

The statue of the Virgin Mary originally was located at Our Lady of the Angels School in Humboldt Park. It was inside the school that was built following the December 1958 fire that swept through the old school building, killing 92 students and three nuns.

The school would remain in operation for another 40 years before Our Lady of the Angels Parish closed the school in 1999. The statue was moved to Holy Family Church on Roosevelt Road after the school building was rented out to a charter school.

The second charter school to occupy the facility closed in 2016. Since 2017, the Mission of Our Lady of the Angels has remodeled the school building into a community center.

Cardinal Blase Cupich said the statue is returning home.

"Now that the building will once again be used by the church as an outreach center, we're delighted to welcome back this statue of Our Lady," Cupich said during the statue blessing ceremony.

Sister LaDonna Manternach said the outreach center will serve as an oasis in the neighborhood.

"Once again the school, this building, is an oasis where people of different races and cultures are working peacefully in bright and cheerful surroundings," she said.