St Mel's Catholic Church in the Garfield Park neighborhood of Chicago, IL.
Sometime around 1912 Michael and Alice Connery moved their family of 9 to a new home at 4140 W Washington Boulevard in Chicago. In doing so, they became members of St Mel Parish. St Mel Church, located at Washington and Kildare, was only a block away from their house. This church is where their youngest daughter Elizabeth was baptized.
Seven of their children were confirmed in this church and three of their daughters were married before it's marble altar. Several of their grandchildren were baptized in this church and one of my cousins received all of her sacraments in this parish.
Members of my family remained members of this parish for over fifty years and when my Grandfather died in 1953, the grade school was closed on the day of his funeral. I remember being highly offended that I was not allowed to attend his funeral but all those other kids could.
This church served the needs of my grandparents and their family for many years and was the foundation of our faith. Our Irish Catholic roots are strong three generations later and I believe that can be traced to the support my grandparents found at St Mel's Church.
photo courtesy of Eric Allix Rogers via Flick'r used under creative commons license.
photo courtesy of Eric Allix Rogers via Flick'r used under creative commons license.
I'm so glad you've joined us for the "Doors of Faith" carnival at The Catholic Gene by sharing your family's connection to St. Mel's parish. I had actually never heard of St. Mel before, so I looked him up! Thanks again for sharing your article.
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