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Old St. Pat's Church's History Explored on WTTW Special

Old St. Patrick's Church Documentary
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WTTW

THE LOOP — A documentary premiering on WTTW-Channel 11 at 7:30 p.m. Thursday will take an unprecedented look at the rise, fall and resurgence of Old St. Patrick's Church, the oldest public building in Chicago.

"Old St. Patrick’s Church: A Chicago Renaissance Story" was commissioned by the public broadcasting station and written and narrated by journalist Mike Leonard.

Produced by Leonard and Picture Show Films, the hourlong documentary touches on the building's history and architectural significance, but delves most deeply into the fluctuations of the community within and surrounding its walls.

Lizzie Schiffman says the documentary will focus on the changing congregation over the last 160+ years:

Known widely in Chicago today simply as "Old St. Pat's" — or as a once-a-year destination for its blowout fundraiser, the World's Biggest Block Party — the church at 700 W. Adams "has had a lot of ups and downs" since it was dedicated in 1846, Leonard said. 

"The real story is, how did it get back up? It was so far down. That happened because of good acts and good intentions — so it ends up being a good story," he said.

It's a story that might not have been told. Leonard said he almost refused the assignment from WTTW out of concerns that, having recently finished another feature related to Catholicism, he might "be known as the Catholic reporter."

"I was born and raised Catholic, I'm an Irish Catholic guy, but I'm also a journalist. I never specialize in anything," he said.

But Leonard said that "once I sort of dug into" the church's history, it became clear that "it's a really, really good story."

The narrative follows Old St. Pat's pastors, the priests John Cusick and Jack Wall, as well as Wall's sister Mary Ann Wall.  "The Three Musketeers" — as Leonard calls them — worked to rebuild the church community after a decline in membership that plateaued in the late 1970s.

"In the late '70s and into the '80s and beyond, American cities were dying, and people were leaving," Leonard said.

When Jack Wall took over the parish in 1983 — at that time, "who would want it?" said Leonard — the neighborhood "was a dead part of town with no life in it."

"But he had a vision. ... It's a Chicago story. It's about a neighborhood. It's about a building, a historic building that fell into disrepair and was resurrected," Leonard said.

The Rev. Tom Hurley, who helms Old St. Pat's, said he was thrilled that WTTW took an interest in the church.

"We're all very humbled and very honored," he said. "I am very excited about it. It is just a great news story about a church that has come back to life."

Hurley hasn't seen the film yet — he'll be watching from the WTTW studios where he'll answer questions before commercial breaks during Thursday night's premiere. He said he's "proud — but not prideful" to see the church's many community service programs and its rich history highlighted.

"I think this captures a really wonderful, unique moment of how some people got together and said 'We're going to make this church happen,' and that's what happened," Hurley said. "I think that's a good story to tell."

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