What is the Claretian connection to the National Shrine of St. Jude in Chicago?
Claretian Father James Tort founded the National Shrine of St. Jude in 1929. The parish of Our Lady of Guadalupe had just begun to build a new church when the Great Depression cost most of the parishioners their jobs. Then, as now, the parish was the center of a Mexican-American community. The people were first attracted to South Chicago by jobs in the steel mills and to Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish by the traditional sympathy of the Claretians for Hispanic cultures. Praying to St. Jude, the patron of causes almost despaired of, the people survived as a community and built their church. They established the Shrine as a national center of prayer and a pillar of support for the Claretians’ work in spiritual renewal and social justice in the United States and around the world. The Shrine is located at 3200 E. 91st Street in South Chicago. You’ll find more information at http://www.shrineofstjude.org/ or by calling 312-236-7782.
