St Joseph’s Church

St Joes has been our home since moving into this neighborhood on 1997. We’ve been through changes, from a Benedictine Mission to becoming an Archdiocesan Church, merging with Immaculate Conception and building a school. Three pastors in our time at St Joes have been exactly what we needed at that point in time. One thing remains unchanged and that is the diverse, warm, caring and welcoming congregation.
There are lots of opportunities to get involved or just come enjoy Mass.

I recently attended a wedding at St. Joseph’s Church for two dear friends– the church was insanely gorgeous and Father Larry was the perfect mix of spiritual, personal, funny and sincere.

Where do I start…
St. Joseph from the start of our search for the perfect catholic church for our May 2014 wedding was fantastic and welcoming!
My husband and I live in California and only took 2 trips before our wedding to finalize all our plans. Chicago is my husbands home town, why we decided to marry in Chicago.
We were gratefully referred to St. Josephs by Wanda from Assumption. From our 1^st interaction with Amanda at the front desk to our last meeting with Father Larry via face time they made our planning very easy, thank you!
St. Joseph Church —
We fell in love with all the detail of this historic church. When you walk in you are taken back by its beauty.
Father Larry —
Very easy to work with, thankful he was able to meet with us via face time after we completed our marriage classes. Such a blessing.
Mary St. Joe’s Music director —
Mary and her angelic voice, great to work with. She met with me to decide on our music then also met again to practice with our vocalist. Thank you for your time & voice!
All our guest (local & out of town) were impressed with St. Joseph’s, it’s beauty and Father Larry’s mass.
It was great that St. Joseph had free parking and was close to our wedding reception at the Sear Tower.
When in town we will make sure to stop by and visit, attend mass.
St. Joseph is perfect!

We are new to St. Joe’s, but have been a fan of Fr. Larry for many years. We travel to come to be fed at the table of The Lord and is worth the drive. Friendly people, great mass, and beautiful surroundings. Try it… you will like it !!

This is a wonderfully diverse congregation that is very welcoming. The connection with the school makes it very family friendly and it is nice to see so many young families at mass. The music is good, the priests are relevant and it is a very welcome alternative to Holy Name.

What a great church and father Larry is the best! I would recommend this church to anyone looking for a beautiful church with the community feel!

After we got engaged, my fiancé and I were conflicted on what type of ceremony we wanted. Once we met with Father Larry, the choice was clear — we knew St. Joseph’s was the right place for us. Unpretentious and a community feel was exactly what we wanted, and the cherry on top is the beautiful interior of the church that exceed our expectations. Wedding planning is always a challenge — you are constantly second guessing each decision you make (at least we were) — but St. Joseph’s was a no brainer for us and a decision we could never regret!

My wife and I were married here in March and we can’t say enough good things about it. It’s a beautiful church and the ceremony was everything we wanted.
The true gem of the whole experience was Father Larry. He is so engaging and we felt he really cared about us and our ceremony. I can tell you that so many people at the reception and after commented on how much they enjoyed listening to Father Larry speak.
And the real testament to how much I like him and the church is that we continue to go to his mass on Sundays. Before our wedding we tended to only go to mass on the holidays. But since getting married in March we have been regular attendees. Father Larry’s mass are light and enjoyable. Not preachy and boring as so many of the mass we attended growing up.

My fiancé and I moved to Chicago in December and started looking for a catholic church that we would like to get married in. Every Sunday we went to a different church around the downtown area until we finally found what we were looking for… a beautiful church, with a community feel, and amazing priests/​sermons. St. Joseph’s is definitely a hidden gem!
The following sums up St. Joseph’s church:
Beautiful! — The outside of this church is very deceiving because of it’s modern look. Once you walk through the front doors you will be in awe. Inside a huge beautiful cathedral. It’s absolutely gorgeous.
Great Priest — Fr. Larry is amazing! He is very personable, remembers everyone by name, and most importantly delivers great sermons. We take something away from every mass we attend.
Amazing Music — The music is awesome. It’s not traditional, boring church music. It’s very modern, with a great rhythm and beat.
Community Feel — Fr. Larry is a big reason this church has a sense of community. Once he found out we were new to the area and church, he immediately introduce us to other parishioners and gave us a warm welcome. There are coffee and donuts after the 11 am mass in the gathering area, which allows you to get to know other parishioners.
Historic —- St. Joseph’s happens to be one of the oldest churches in Chicago. In the 70’s, the front of the church collapsed and was reconstructed with a more modern look, which makes it very deceiving when you drive past it. Once inside, you’ll see a beautiful cathedral with such great detail.
Free Parking & Easily Accessible —- Do I have to say more? This is not something that’s easy to find in Chicago. St. Joseph’s has it own school and parking lot across the street that is free for parishioners on Sundays.
Flexible Mass Times — St. Joseph’s also has a sister church called Immaculate Conception a couple blocks away. It is much smaller and is attached to its school. Between the two churches you have a lot of different mass times to pick and choose from.
We absolutely love it here, and you will too! We can’t wait to get married at St. Joseph’s next Spring. If your new to Chicago and looking for a great Catholic church, trust me… this is the one! :)

I love this church for so many reasons. First, my fiancé was looking for a church to be a parishioner of (he converted several years back and had not found a church he felt he wanted to belong to). Second, we wanted to find a beautiful Catholic church in the city to get married at and also become regular members, especially since I wasn’t too crazy about getting married at my mom’s church. From the moment we stepped into St. Joseph’s I knew this was it. Talking to Fr. Pat Lee sealed the deal for us. I’m not an overly emotional person, but I actually cried when I told my fiancé this church is all we’ve been looking for.
Did I already mention that St. Joseph is a beautiful church? From the outside, it looks like an austere and fairly «modern» looking building. However, when you walk inside it is totally different — traditional but not overly ornate. The stained-​glass windows are GORGEOUS, and they recently renovated the interior back to its original beauty. While it looks like it could be a cathedral, it’s a cozy size where you don’t feel little and lost in the pews.
The church members are very diverse in all aspects (this was important to us). The music director does a fabulous job with the music. Of all the Catholic churches I’ve ever been to, this is the first I’ve come across where the choir not only plays/​sings your typical church music style, but they also play/​sing songs in the blues, jazz, gospel, african, etc. styles.
Last but not least, Fr. Pat and Fr. Ron are very friendly and approachable. Fr. Pat is there every Sunday before mass to personally greet everyone when you walk in… even at the times he’s not leading the mass. He knows me by name even from the second time I went to mass there.
Overall, it’s been a blessing finding this church. The fact that we live in the ‘burbs and drive all the way into the city to go to mass speaks for itself how happy we are with this parish.

This Church is not friendly or open. Even when Father Sebastian was there they were unfriendly. He was a nice and loving priest, but he just could not connect to newer members. I have heard it has changed, but there is too much hipocracy here for my liking.