Our Lady of Sorrows Basilica | The Most Beautiful Places in Chicago with Geoffrey Baer

Garfield Park is home to an ornate basilica. Credit: Meredith Francis for WTTW (exterior); WTTW (interior)

Sacred Spaces

Our Lady of Sorrows Basilica

Our Lady of Sorrows in Garfield Park is one of three Chicago churches to be named a basilica by the pope. (The other two are St. Hyacinth Basilica near Logan Square and Queen of All Saints Basilica in Sauganash). In the Catholic Church, “basilica” can be more than just an architectural term; it is a title of honor given to certain buildings with historical, artistic, or religious significance. Our Lady of Sorrows church was founded in 1874, and the current renaissance revival building was dedicated in 1902. The basilica has a barrel-vaulted ceiling, and the nave contains ornate gold-leaf panels. Pope Pius XII named Our Lady of Sorrows a basilica in 1956. It is also the location for the National Shrine of Saint Peregrine, the patron saint of people with cancer.