St Benedict Church & School

Beautiful Church and a lot of fond memories from my High School years.

Great school and people

The great ediface of the church is on Irving Park Road, probably the tallest building for miles around. The bell tower was recently structurally renovated. Inside, the great domed main sanctuary is impressive, but not ostentatious. There is an organ/​choir loft at the rear. Large domed rooms are notorious for echoes that go on forever and St. Ben’s has a very long decay and reverberation. Attempts to defeat this by use of a P.A. system are rarely successful.
More that half of the remaining property to the south is their extensive school complex, including a gymnasium. The surrounding neighborhood is mainly upper middle-​class but very family focused.

I went to St. Benedict High School, and this was my home parish as a teenager up until I got married and moved to the south side.
It was an excellent school. My teachers really cared about making sure that we got a quality education that would allow us to become articulate adults who were ready for whatever path we chose in life. I generally felt like they cared about me as a person, and that they wanted to make sure that I grew into a well rounded individual. I appreciate the time I spent St. Benedict, and I was well prepared not only for college, but for life in general.
The church building itself is beautiful, but unassuming. The vaulted ceilings are cream, gold and a soft blue that, coupled with marble floors and dark wood give off a classy vibe. They remodeled it in the late 1990’s, and I think the new décor was supposed to be more true to the original. It is not as ornate as some churches in the city but just as beautiful, without trying too hard, in my opinion. The priests were all right, and I remember the masses being engaging. I miss St. Ben’s!