Holy Rosary Church

I recently attended a wedding at this church in my old ‘hood. Located on the fringe of the Ukie Village/​Humboldt Park neighborhood divide, this was once an old ethnic Italian parish that has been passed on to the current population of English & Spanish speaking parishioners. I remember when I was in 5^th grade just down the road at St. Nicholas School, when Holy Rosary’s school closed and my 5^th grade class absorbed about a dozen students from this parish, most of whom were Italian. Yet I never set foot in this church till a few weeks ago.
On the outside, I was not that impressed, but once I stepped into the church I really thought it was a beautiful work of art. While it’s not a cathedral with a high ceiling and domes, it’s still one of those sturdy old brick church buildings that would stand up to anything. Inside, the stained glass and the paintings on the walls and ceiling give it a touch that you don’t see in the sleek, minimalist, more modern churches built in the 1950s or later. Though it was a hot day outside in the mid-​80s, I will tell you that I didn’t even break a sweat in the church despite there being no AC.
And while I am not a parishioner here, it was a wedding I attended. I can say this place epitomizes what I’d envision a «wedding chapel» to be. It’s not too big on the inside in terms of capacity, a wide center aisle and a large vestibule area for people to gather.
Looking at the art on the stained glass windows, many of the saints are Italian. One that caught my eye was farther towards the back of the church. The stained glass depicted someone resembling a cardinal or bishop in attire, but he could have passed for a Godfather movie character in facial appearance.
This is a nice, well-​maintained parish and I was glad I finally got to see the place inside.