On the first anniversary of the fire at the Shrine of Christ the King, hundreds of faithful and friends gathered for a day of prayerful thanksgiving and expression of hope for the ongoing rebuilding. This event welcomed home the freshly restored statue of Christ the Infant King, the 17th-Century spiritual centerpiece of the Shrine which had endured some damage from the fire and smoke. The King has returned!
Monsignor Michael Schmitz, Vicar General in the Institute and Delegate of the Prior General for the United States, celebrated a votive Solemn High Mass of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary outdoors, against the silhouette of the Shrine. In his sermon, Monsignor Schmitz retraced the history of the Rosary devotion and how we are to imitate in our own lives and in the life of our Shrine family the Rosary mysteries of the life of Our Lord and His Blessed Mother. Solemn yet accessible, this memorable outdoor liturgy was made possible by many helping hands.
Afterwards, a Rally for Resurrection was held in the street near to the Shrine’s active construction site. The newly appointed Shrine Rector, Canon Matthew Talarico, offered publicly gratitude and appreciation to all of those who helped the Shrine community throughout the tragic fire experience and its aftermath.
Canon Talarico thanked the Chicago Fire Department, which was well represented by firefighters of Engine 63 and Truck 16 from the neighborhood firehouse, and read a message from the central leadership of the CFD. He also thanked Fr. Elias O’Brien and St. Thomas the Apostle Parish for offering their church to the Shrine community in the weeks following the fire. He then expressed how much the Shrine family is indebted to the very generous neighbors at First Presbyterian for the continual use of their gym space as the Upper Room Chapel where Mass is offered several times each week. Words of thankfulness were also offered to Archbishop Cupich and the leadership of the Archdiocese of Chicago who made great efforts of collaboration with the Institute of Christ the King to work out the solution of Shrine ownership by the Institute in order to expedite the rebuilding process. Thankful mention was also made of the City Landmarks Commission and to Alderman Cochran for their kind assistance. Canon Talarico then thanked the Shrine’s neighbors and friends in the historic preservation community, who have been so very generous and helpful in raising awareness and in obtaining valuable contributions for the rebuilding of this landmark church of the City of Chicago. Emily Nielsen and Gabriel Piemonte of the Save the Shrine Coalition, along with Ward Miller of Preservation Chicago, expressed their ongoing support for this unique rebuilding effort.
The Project Manager, Architect Elizabeth Ortner of Studio 31A, then gave an