The Catholic Cross-Over: A Case Study of

St. Thomas More Parish, 1950 – 2000.

by Alice Holohan
 Introduction

 St. Thomas More was

founded in 1947 in the
Wrightwood
neighborhood in
Ashburn, Chicago.
 It was started by an
Irish-American
community but today
the area’s parish is
over 90% African-
American.

© 1998 www.chicagoreporter.com
 Literature Review
 Immigration and Assimilation
 Smith (1996): Irish immigrants lived in ethnic enclaves supported by a
religious foundation.
 Skerrett, Kantowicz & Avella (1993): Enclaves turned into parishes
which exposed immigrants to the American values of initiative and
individualism.
 Miller and Kavanaugh (1975): Catholic schools were used as agents of
assimilation.
 Racial Resistance
 Gamm (1999): “Urban Crisis of the 1920s”
 Ignatiev (1995): Violence was used against African-Americans.
 The Reaction of the Catholic Church
 Miller (1975): Blacks were treated as a form of missionary work.
 Curry (1977): Archbishop of Chicago in the 1930s purposely
encouraged black isolation.
© 1998 www.irish-society.org
 Segregation

 In 1948, all racial restrictive covenants

in Chicago were banned. It was now
illegal to promote segregation but it
wasn’t until the 1960s that it was
considered immoral to segregate.
 In the same year, the construction of 48
Catholic churches in the suburbs was
commissioned.
© 2006 www.afroamhistory.about.com
 Racial Theology Theory
 Vatican II ideal of the
“Mystical Body of
Christ” meets the racial
equality ideals of the
Civil Rights Movement
 Shift to a “Servant
Church” which focused
on social justice instead
of Church doctrine

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Racial Theology Theory Applied

The effect of
Vatican II on
St. Thomas More
Parish

Conservative Liberal Conservative

Parishioners Parishioners Parishioners

Ties to parish are not as Older population who

Move to suburbs in search
strong; They move to upholds “parish as a
of parish to match their
suburbs as neighborhood fortress” mentality; Stay
religious ideals
value does down in STM neighborhood.
Thesis Statement
 Given the limited research on the association
between religious and residential segregation,
the purpose of this project is to assess the
Church’s reaction to its incoming African-
American parishioners. Due to the change in
racial composition from an Irish-American
parish to a predominantly African-American
parish, a content analysis of the weekly church
bulletins of St. Thomas More in Chicago is
employed.
Methodology

 Content Analysis of St. Thomas

More Bulletins from 1956 – 2000.
 Convenience Sampling was used
to determine the years to analyze.
 Bulletin columns were coded and
separated into 8 categories
 U.S. Census Bureau data of the
Ashburn area was also analyzed.

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Findings

St. Thomas More

Bulletin Cover,
September 1970.
 Findings
Table 1. Percentage of Bulletin Column Topics By Year
1960 1970 1980 1990 2000
TOPIC:
STM religious events 24% 14% 14% 9% 6%
STM non-religious events 42% 49% 33% 24% 16%
Other Parish Events 3% 10% 25% 26% 33%
Catholic Doctrine 27% 13% 11% 7% 2%
Elderly .7% 4% 8% 10% 13%
Irish Culture 1% 0% 2% 5% 7%
Community Awareness -- 5% 5% 10% 17%
Employment -- -- 2% 12% 6%
Opportunities
 Race defined in the late 1950s

 “In our archdiocese we are doing so little

to bring outsiders into the Household of
Faith.” – Feb. 2, 1956

 “Learn to like people, even though many

of them may be as different from you as
a Chinese.” – Dec. 12, 1958

© 2006 www.afroamhistory.about.com
 Race defined in the 1960s
 Chicago Catholic schools are ordered to accept
African-Americans in 1960.
 “The Church is called Catholic because it
brings together all races and nations in the
worship of one true God.”- July 24th, 1960.
 “It’s a vicious circle. A lack of toleration
among Catholics is one of the promoters of
segregation.” – Dec. 1st, 1964.
 “If we fail to love our neighbor, men of every
religion, race, and ethnicity, then our so-called
love of God is mere phoniness and hypocrisy.”
– Sept. 20, 1969
© 2002 www.afroamhistory.about.com
 Race defined in the 1970s and 1980s

 Race was never an issue. The only time

mentioned:
 “Vandals we have – destructive, evil, they
live in our parish. They are not black – they
are white. They are your children, our
children.” – July 13th, 1980.

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 Race in the 1990s
 Beginning of St. Martin de Porres
devotions to promote the awareness of
inter-racial harmony, an “important
Church duty of promoting Christ-like
love and peace.” – April 29, 1990.
 “Freedom for the victims of racism is a
right to life issue. Uphold the command
to love one another, even when love
seems impossible.” – Feb. 17, 1994.
© 2000 www.saintsabina.org
 Race in 2000

 Events catered to the African-American

community:
 “The Lira Singers – A Special Performance
of African-American Song.”
 “Archdiocese Black Catholics Celebration of
Marriage”
 “Commemoration of 22 Ugandan Martyrs
who died in 1895.”
©2002 www.holyangels.org
 Percentage of Black Population
in Census Blocks
7001 – 7005 from 1970 to 2000
100
7001
80
7002
60
7003
40
7004
20
7005
0
1970 1980 1990 2000
Census Years
 Discussion
 In the 1990s the community was not
stable as parishes typically have been
throughout the century.
 In 1993, a white senior citizen was killed
by a 21-year-old African-American man.
 Number of houses for sale in 1993: 10
Number of houses for sale in 1994: 46
 The Church is no longer a community
anchor.
© 2006 www.wiki.urbandead.com
 Discussion
 Since the Church has turned into a servant
church, it needs more money than ever to
finance operations.
 As parishioners leave for the suburbs, their
financial support obviously leaves as well.
 Catholic schools cannot be funded therefore
they have to close. We must ask ourselves
what will be a way of socializing urban
residents into upward mobility if schools are
closed and a sense of a stable community is
lost.
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 Questions?

Thank you!
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