The former Our Lady of the Angels School, the site of a tragic fire that killed 92 students and three religious sisters on Dec. 1, 1958, has been given a new purpose as an outreach center for the Mission of Our Lady of the Angels. Cardinal Cupich blessed and rededicated the center, 3814 W. Iowa St., following Mass on Oct. 2. The building, built to replace the school building destroyed by the fire, was rededicated in honor of the victims the fire, which stunned the nation and caused revisions to school fire codes across the country. Oct. 2 was the 62nd anniversary of the original dedication of the building and it was also the memorial of the holy guardian angels. The three-story, 70,000-square-foot building will be used to accommodate a weekly food pantry, ground-level storage for donations, a new kitchen and dining room, a chapel for perpetual adoration, offices and classroom space for neighborhood programs for adults and a new 45-bedroom volunteer residence and retreat space. The former OLA school building officially became part of the mission during the summer of 2017. Official renovations of the building began in May 2018. Franciscan Sister of the Eucharist of Chicago Stephanie Baliga oversaw the project. “We’re very grateful that we’re done because it was very long,” Sister Stephanie said, laughing. “There were a lot of interesting stumbling blocks along the way, so we are grateful for the many, many, many people who made this possible with money as well as material donations and tons of volunteers.” When a charter school that was renting the school from the archdiocese moved out in 2016, then-Father Robert Lombardo recognized an opportunity. “In Bishop Bob’s wisdom, it was very clear that we were going to need additional space for outreach and additional space to house volunteers,” Sister Stephanie said. “It was extremely clear that this was something God wanted.” Karen Tysland was one of several former students who returned for the dedication. Her family belonged to Our Lady of the Angels Parish and she received all of her sacraments and was married in the church. She took catechism classes in the school. Tysland and her family have kept in touch with the work of the mission and have volunteered at events. “We’ve been watching the growth and the changes, and it’s just been absolutely amazing,” Tysland said. “Today is very special.” Frank Giglio was one of several survivors of the fire who attended the rededication. He was 7 years old when the fire broke out and a teacher got him out of the school safely. “It brings back a lot of memories, sad memories and good memories,” he said of the rededication. “We were just talking. The graduation ceremony, which was just four months after the fire, was worse than the fire. I remember it like it was just yesterday.” Another survivor, Rosalie O’Brien, agreed. She was 13 at the time of the fire and remembers boys in her class goofing around during rehearsals for graduation, but come the day of, that was not the case. “Graduation, no one was goofing around. It was the saddest thing you ever saw. The girls, our gowns were wet from crying. So this is very emotional. We’re happy that they are going to use this space for a good thing,” she said. “They are on hallowed ground.” Michael Biasiello Sr. and his family have been volunteering at the mission since shortly after Bishop Lombardo arrived in 2005. “We started to come here and get involved with different programs, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Then we got our children involved in it, all three of them,” Biasiello said. The transformation and growth of the mission over the years astounds Biasiello. “I think it’s a miracle. I mean, how does this happen like this? This would be impossible for anybody to do and they accomplished it. I would call this a miraculous oasis in a desert of despair,” he said. His son, Michael Biasiello Jr., is a self-described Chicago history buff and learned about the fire at Our Lady of the Angels when he was in kindergarten at St. James School in Arlington Heights and came across a copy of a newspaper from the day after the fire. The horrific event stuck in his memory. When his father told him about volunteering at the mission, Michael Biasiello Jr. did not hesitate and has volunteered during Thanksgiving and Christmas every year since. “When I’m here, I sort of feel like I’m carrying on the legacy of all those kids that were lost and the nuns that perished here as well,” he said. To donate or volunteer, visit missionola.com.
Statue with ties to tragic fire returns to Our Lady of the Angels On May 31, a statue of Mary was mounted to the front of a Chicago Fire Department ladder truck and was the star of a six-mile long parade of three trucks — with sirens blaring and lights flashing — from Holy Family Church, 1080 W. Roosevelt Road, to the Mission of Our Lady of the Angels Outreach Center, 3814 W. Iowa St.
Food insecurity still high as pandemic continues, pantries say When the Mission of Our Lady of the Angels in West Humboldt Park reopened its indoor food pantry on July 13, people were lined up around the block to get in. The mission served 312 families, the highest ever for the indoor pantry.
Sister Stephanie breaks fundraising goal for treadmill marathon Despite three false starts, three power outages and her legs cramping at mile 17, Franciscan Sister of the Eucharist of Chicago Stephanie Baliga accomplished her goal on Aug. 23 of running a marathon on a treadmill to raise money for the Mission of Our Lady of the Angels.