Quigley’s Saint James Chapel, inspired by of Paris’
Sainte Chapelle, was completed in 1919. Its French Gothic Revival design, with its arched windows and soaring vertical buttresses, and exterior walls surrounded and guarded by statues of saints, has been called, “a hidden jewel” in the midst of a bustling commercial and residential neighborhood on Chicago’s Gold Coast.
Its eight nave windows depict, in glowing color and intricate detail, scenes from the Old Testament and the Acts of the Apostles; while the west-facing Rose Window depicts the life of Mary, Jesus’ Mother. The sanctuary windows tell the story of the life of Christ. The heart of the Chapel, its altar, is carved of Caen stone, brought to the U.S. from France.
Yet, in all of its glory and splendor, the Saint James Chapel has a significance beyond that of the visual. The chapel is, and for over 90 years has remained, a place for prayer and reflection; a sacred place for Eucharist liturgies and a refuge for those seeking God’s quiet counsel.
From 1918 to 2007, Quigley Preparatory Seminary housed the Saint James Chapel that served and comforted seminarians by the thousands, providing a place in which Quigley friends and benefactors might be thanked, mourned, and honored. In 2007, the high school seminary was closed. It reopened in December 2008 as the completely refurbished Archbishop Quigley Center, one of two new locations for the ministerial offices of the Archdiocese.
Today, the Saint James Chapel serves the spiritual needs of Archdiocesan employees with daily Mass, Eucharistic Adoration each Friday, and opportunities for personal and group prayer.