Chicago Church Restoration by the Institute of Christ the King

Building saved from the wrecking ball will be used by a Latin mass Roman Catholic order

St. Gelasius Church is a neo-Renaissance shell empty of pews and parishioners, so dilapidated it was once slated for destruction.

Now it is alive with activity as masons repair the stone facing and priests in cassocks supervise painters inside the rectory.

After a community battle to save the 81-year-old Roman Catholic church, a Latin mass order has moved in, hoping to bring a renaissance of worship and art to a changing South Side neighborhood through an ancient liturgy.

The Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, headquartered in Italy, plans to celebrate the Tridentine mass, a historic form of liturgy spoken in Latin, in a sanctuary restored to an Italianate glory.

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