“Information about the ownership of the former Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Church in Austin is sparse, but two things are known for certain.
“The City of Chicago has brought suit against the current owner of the boarded-up church at 832 N. Leclaire Ave. and “seeks to abate dangerous and unsafe conditions at the property in question.”
“Second, the graffiti and broken windows that pock the church’s exterior belie the building’s profound internal and structural problems, including cracked rafters, exposed wiring, and masonry that has stress fractures.
“‘The Chicago Department of Buildings (DOB) remains committed to ensuring the safety of our communities through our enforcement action,’ said Nefsa’Hyatt Brown, director of public affairs. ‘DOB has conducted various inspections at the St. Mark International Christian Church, resulting in enforcement actions escalating to the Department of Law in 2021 and 2026.
“DOB inspectors have documented various violations posing a hazard to the surrounding community and have ordered the building vacated and secured. Upon reinspection, our team documented that the building was open, leading to the most recent referral to the Department of Law. The property is currently in active litigation”
“According to information gleaned from archdiocesan archives, Our Lady Help of Christians was founded as a mission of St. Catherine of Siena Church in Oak Park in the 1890s. In summer 1901, Rev. Louis A. Campbell, St. Catherine of Siena pastor, authorized construction of a church building at Iowa Street and Leamington Avenue, with then-Archbishop Patrick A. Feehan reorganizing the mission as a parish that fall. The first resident pastor was Rev. Joseph P. O’Reilly.
“St. Catherine-St. Lucy Church at Austin and Washington in Oak Park was closed a year ago and is currently for sale by the archdiocese.
“At first, O’Reilly named the parish Our Lady of Mercy but shortly changed the name to Our Lady Help of Christians. That church building was blessed by Auxiliary Bishop Peter J. Muldoon in late 1901. A rectory was constructed in 1902, with a school that opened in 1907.
“The foundation of the current church building was laid in August 1926. Cardinal George Mundelein dedicated that building just over a year later in November 1927. In 1936, the school was expanded, with ground broken for a new school in summer 1960, which included classrooms, a gymnasium and a library.
“The archdiocese currently owns the school building at 819 and 831-847 N. Leamington Ave. but is attempting to sell it through Chicago-based Baum Realty Group for an asking price of $1.25 million. According to information from the Baum Realty website, the school has ‘a two-story classroom configuration alongside full sized, high ceiling gymnasium,’ along with a 4,500-square-foot gated parking lot and a 27,500-square-foot adjacent vacant parcel. (Voss, Austin Weekly News, 4/21/26)