Father Mertz, S.J.'s Dream: Madonna della Strada Chapel
Father James Mertz, SJ outside Madonna della Strada Chapel
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Then:
Born May 24th, 1882 in Toledo, Ohio, Father James Mertz was raised as part of a devoutly Catholic community. He attended Catholic schools all his life and graduated from Canisius High School in 1900. That summer, when playing baseball against a Jesuit team, Father Mertz decided to join the Society of Jesus on the recommendation of one of the players. By the summer of 1915, Mertz was ordained a priest and began to teach in various schools, including Saint Ignatius on the West Side until he came to Loyola in 1922 as an instructor in Greek and Latin.
In 1924, Father Joseph Conroy challenged Father Mertz to build a chapel when Mertz commented that he found it strange there was no place for worship on the Lake Shore Campus, even though it had existed for 15 years. The accept would become one of his lasting legacies on campus, the creation of a chapel at which students, faculty, and staff could worship. As before the construction of the Madonna Della Strada Chapel, Loyola University students did not have a place on campus to worship. He had a large, seemingly insurmountable task ahead of him. Father Mertz would have to raise the funds for the chapel by himself, a staggering 750,000 dollars over a 14-year period. The cornerstone was blessed and placed on October 30, 1938. By 1939, the exterior of the Madonna had been completed.
Madonna Della Strada Chapel Groundbreaking
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Construction of the Madonna Della Strada Chapel
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Madonna Della Strada Chapel
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Architect Andrew Rebori designed the Madonna Della Strada and was chosen because of his previous work with the university designing the Elizabeth M. Cudahy Memorial Library. Rebori used marble from eight different countries to help complete the Chapel and, by 1947, with the completion of the Stations of the Cross fresco, the chapel was complete. After a nearly 23-year process and hundreds of thousands of dollars raised, Father Mertz’s mission was complete. Father Mertz’s creation became known as the “Song in Stone” and students from Loyola practiced the Jesuit mission and ideals that the Madonna was built for.
Now:
As a Jesuit university, social justice is at the forefront of Loyola’s ideological mission. Many of these social justice efforts are run through Campus Ministry and the Madonna Della Strada. One such effort is the celebration mass of the feast day for Our Lady of Guadalupe. During the mass prayers were offered up to uphold the dignity of all migrants and pray for immigration reform. The Madonna passes out collection plates during masses and the funds gathered are donated to a variety of charitable organizations. Some of these organizations include the Catholic Relief Services, Jesuit Volunteer Corps, and the Ministries of the Midwest Jesuits.
Campus Ministry runs many social justice programs and volunteer opportunities that all Loyola students can attend. Many of these opportunities can be explored through Faith Fest, which is held during Welcome Week at Loyola. Through Campus Ministry, students can join an Alternative Break Immersion (ABI) program. ABIs follow four pillars: building community, deepening faith, living simply, doing justice. Through these four pillars students will give back to various communities, as they strive for solidarity and understanding with others and those that are on the margins of society.
Person Donating to Hunger Week
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Other social justice and volunteer programs include a soup kitchen partnership and Saturday of Service. Loyola4Chicago is another such program, where students will form a team and for four hours a week, they will volunteer with the elderly, children, refugees, the sick, and others. Through these various programs Loyola had logged more then 800,000 hours of volunteering in 2018.
Hunger Week Posters
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During Hunger Week the plight of the world hunger crisis is highlighted, and funds are raised to help projects directly related to serving those who are facing starvation or malnutrition. Events held to help raise funds include a 5k run, canned food drive, and a sleep out to name a few. Talks are held to help examine the cultural and economic causes of worldwide hunger in addition to these events. From the construction of the Madonna Della Strada Chapel to Hunger Week, Loyola gives students many ways to practice their faith and practice social justice.