Our Lady of Sorrows Basilica rises with quiet grandeur above the residential streets of Chicago's West Side, its Italian Renaissance façade a landmark of ecclesiastical architecture in a neighbourhood that has seen successive waves of immigrant communities claim it as their spiritual home. Built by the Servite Fathers between 1890 and 1902, the basilica was elevated to the rank of Minor Basilica by Pope John XXIII in 1956 — one of very few churches in Illinois to hold this distinction — in recognition of the extraordinary devotion that had gathered around two particular shrines within its walls. The first and more ancient of these shrines is dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows, the Blessed Virgin Mary contemplated in her grief at the foot of the Cross. The Servite Order, formally the Order of the Servants of Mary, was founded in Florence in 1233 by seven Florentine merchants who sought to honour the sorrowing Virgin and serve the Church through contemplation of her suffering. The great Solemn Novena to Our Lady of Sorrows, celebrated at the basilica each September, has been running since 1937 and draws hundreds of thousands of pilgrims over its nine days, making it one of the largest religious gatherings in the annual calendar of the American Midwest. The second great shrine, established later in the twentieth century, is dedicated to Saint Peregrine Laziosi, a thirteenth-century Servite friar whose miraculous cure from cancer of the foot has made him the universally invoked patron of those suffering from cancer and other serious illnesses. The National Shrine of Saint Peregrine at Our Lady of Sorrows receives countless prayer petitions from cancer patients and their families across the United States and beyond.
A Minor Basilica elevated by Pope John XXIII in 1956, one of very few in Illinois
The Solemn Novena to Our Lady of Sorrows each September draws hundreds of thousands of pilgrims over nine days
Home to the National Shrine of Saint Peregrine, patron of cancer patients, enshrining his relic
Built by the Servite Fathers, the Order of the Servants of Mary, founded in Florence in 1233
A masterpiece of Italian Renaissance church architecture on the West Side of Chicago
The Servite Fathers and Their Mission
The Order of the Servants of Mary was founded in Florence in 1233 by seven merchants of the Florentine guild who, touched by a common vision of the Blessed Virgin, withdrew from commerce to devote themselves to prayer and the service of Mary in her sorrows. They settled on Monte Senario above Florence, and from this contemplative beginning grew a religious order whose distinctive charism — contemplation of the Seven Sorrows of Mary — has shaped Catholic devotional life across seven centuries. The Servites arrived in Chicago in 1874 and established a parish on the West Side that would grow to encompass one of the most significant basilicas in the United States.
Construction of the present basilica began in 1890 under the direction of the architect Henry Engelbert and was largely completed by 1902, though interior decoration continued for decades. The building is designed in the Italian Renaissance style, with a grand façade of tan brick and stone, a central rose window, and an interior of notable height and breadth.
The Solemn Novena to Our Lady of Sorrows
The Solemn Novena to Our Lady of Sorrows, celebrated annually in the weeks leading up to the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows on 15 September, is one of the great events of popular Catholic devotion in the United States. Established in 1937, the novena draws pilgrims from across the Chicago metropolitan area and from many other states — attendance over the nine days typically reaches several hundred thousand people, distributed across multiple daily Masses and devotional services.
The Seven Sorrows of Mary — the prophecy of Simeon, the flight into Egypt, the loss of the child Jesus in the Temple, meeting Jesus on the Way of the Cross, standing at the foot of the Cross, the taking down of his body, and the burial of Christ — form the meditative framework of the novena. Each day focuses on one or more of these sorrows, inviting the faithful to enter into contemplation of Mary's compassion and its redemptive significance.
The National Shrine of Saint Peregrine
Saint Peregrine Laziosi was born in Forlì, Italy, around 1260 and died in 1345. As a young man he was an opponent of the Church and actually struck Saint Philip Benizi, a Servite leader sent on a papal mission. Immediately repentant, Peregrine followed Philip to Siena and eventually joined the Servites, becoming renowned for his austerity and his compassion for the poor. He developed a severe cancer in his right foot; the night before the scheduled amputation he experienced a vision of Christ descending from the crucifix to touch and heal the diseased limb. He was canonised in 1726.
The National Shrine of Saint Peregrine at Our Lady of Sorrows has become one of the most important sites of prayer for cancer patients and their families in the United States. A relic of the saint is enshrined within the shrine chapel, and thousands of prayer petitions from those suffering from cancer, their families, and their caregivers arrive each year.
Visiting
The basilica is open daily and is accessible from downtown Chicago by the CTA Blue Line. The great Solemn Novena in September is the principal time to visit for pilgrims; however, the shrine of Saint Peregrine attracts visitors throughout the year. The basilica's interior, with its Renaissance grandeur and devotional richness, rewards careful exploration.