A tradition of faith and love
Every September, devotees of Santa Maria Incoronata assemble on Alexander Street in Chicago's Chinatown to pay homage to the Blessed Mother. They gather in the same way their parents and grandparents have for the past century, standing outside church in sweltering heat or incessant rain showers to catch a glimpse of the life-sized statue of the Madonna as she is processed through the parish streets.
Today, members still wear their medals with fluttering blue ribbons, and the candlehouses are carried aloft by the club’s youth. But the society and its church have changed over the intervening decades. While this tradition remains similar to days of old—like a vintage black-and-white photograph painstakingly preserved and recreated annually—the neighborhood has transformed from an Italian-American enclave to a vibrant settlement for recent Asian-American immigrants, and Santa Maria Incoronata Church, the community’s centerpiece of worship, has become St. Therese Chinese Mission - Shrine of Maria Santissima Incoronata.
But the club and its annual feast have endured, making it one of the nation's oldest continuing patron saint celebrations.
Celebrating the past, embracing the future.
The club began humbly in 1897 at a time when Italian immigrants were settling in the area that is now Chinatown. Many of these pilgrims hailed from Ricigliano and wanted to honor their strong devotion to the Blessed Mother on the streets of their new homeland. A society was formed, a church was built and a relic was commissioned. Soon, a statue of the Madonna and Christ child, carved out of a pear tree and covered in plaster, became the centerpiece of celebration. It was truly a symbol born of hard work and sacrifice. Parishioners donated what little money they had to see its completion through, and nearly 50 years later, their children made sacrifices by giving up wedding bands and gold fillings to craft the two gold crowns that sit atop the statue.
But this is America, which is just as much a land of assimilation and unwanted change as it is opportunity. The construction of the Dan Ryan Expressway, completed in the early 1960s, drove a wedge into the thriving South Side Italian-American neighborhood, pushing many families further south to settle in Bridgeport and even more of them to other Chicago neighborhoods and the suburbs. The area surrounding Santa Maria Incoronata Church soon gave way to an influx of Asian immigrants, and the church was renamed St. Therese Chinese Catholic Mission – Santa Maria Incoronata Church in 1963.
But instead of fading away, the club has boldly moved forward. St. Therese - Santa Maria Incoronata Church has transformed into a beautiful melting pot of cultures coming together to celebrate a shared faith stronger than any differences. The annual procession still winds its ways from Alexander all the way south to the home of the Chicago White Sox and back again. Hundreds show up annually to honor our Blessed Mother and celebrate the heritage of their great-grandparents, grandparents and parents, even if they no longer reside in the shadow of this storied parish. As this custom is passed down through the ages, every new generation is not only asked to uphold the tradition but leave its mark on the society's history.
A new chapter is written each September, and thanks to the Blessed Mother's intercession, the story of Club Maria SS. Incoronata is far from finished.