Archbishop James E. Quigley Seminary was the minor seminary of the Archdiocese of Chicago. More than 20,000 young men attended the high school seminary since 1905, and its alumni include more than 2,500 priests and 35 bishops.
George Cardinal Mundelein, like Chicago architect Daniel Burnham, made no small plans. As prelate of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, Cardinal Mundelein transformed his vision into enduring monuments by building both Archbishop James E. Quigley Preparatory Seminary and St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein, Illinois. The following timeline illustrates the history of Archbishop James E. Quigley Seminary.
1905 Archbishop James E. Quigley establishes Cathedral College of the Sacred Heart, a preparatory high school for boys, at Wabash and Superior Streets.
1915 Shortly before his death, Archbishop Quigley discusses his plans to build a larger seminary with his eventual successor, Bishop George W. Mundelein, auxiliary bishop of Brooklyn, N.Y.
1916 Archbishop Mundelein of Chicago announces his plans to build Quigley Memorial Preparatory Seminary at Rush and Chestnut Streets:
“The buildings will be in the early French Gothic style of architecture and by reason of the distinct individuality and prominent location, will form a place of interest, not only to visitors, but to all lovers of the City Beautiful.”
Mundelein asks that children attending archdiocesan schools contribute a penny a week to be their memorial gift to the late Archbishop Quigley. The children respond by contributing more than $20,000 the first year.
1917 The cornerstone for the new seminary is laid under the supervision of architects Zachary T. Davis of Chicago and Gustave E. Steinback of New York. Davis also designed St. Ambrose at 47th Street and Ellis Avenue (1911), the old Comiskey Park (1910) and Wrigley Field (1914), all in Chicago.
1918 The main college building on the east side of the campus is completed, and the chapel and library wings are under construction. The first seminarians attend Quigley under the guidance of Msgr. Francis A. Purcell, the first rector. Msgr. Purcell and Msgr. J.G. Kealy, a former professor of scriptural history, plan the subject matter of the chapel windows.
1919 St. James Chapel is completed (except for the windows), and the first Sacred Concert is celebrated on November 22, the feast of St. Cecilia, patron saint of music.
1920 Commencement exercises are held in St. James Chapel for Quigley’s first five-year graduating class. The seminary was dedicated June 8, and the formal blessing of the chapel was performed by the papal delegate, the Most Rev. Giovanni Bonzano.
1924 Archbishop Mundelein is elevated to the rank of cardinal by Pope Pius Xl in Rome.
1925 The St. James Chapel windows are completed. A west wing connecting the library and chapel wings along Rush Street, designed by Chicago architect Joseph William McCarthy, is added to Quigley’s existing building to accommodate its growing student body. The addition was inspired by the 15thcentury Palais de Justice in Rouen, France.
1939 George Cardinal Mundelein dies.
1941 The chapel spire is damaged during a storm and subsequently dismantled; only the base remains.
1961 Quigley Preparatory Seminary South is opened at 79th Street and Western Avenue on Chicago’s South Side. The original seminary is renamed Quigley Preparatory Seminary North. The scholastic program at Quigley is reduced from five to four years.
1990 Due to fiscal constraints, the archdiocese closes Quigleys North and South and opens Archbishop James E. Quigley Preparatory Seminary at the original campus at 103 East Chestnut Street.
1995 Archbishop Quigley Seminary opens the doors of St. James Chapel to the public for the first time.
1996 Archbishop Quigley Seminary is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
2007 Archbishop Quigley Seminary closes.
2008 Archbishop Quigley Center opens.
The cornerstone of St. James Chapel of Archbishop James E. Quigley Seminary was laid in 1917. The design of St. James Chapel was inspired by Sainte-Chapelle in Paris. That famous mid-13th-century Gothic structure was built at the command of King Louis IX of France, crusader and saint, to house his recent acquisition of the Crown of Thorns.
Although St. James is Gothic in appearance, it is not a direct copy of Sainte-Chapelle. Rather, it is a superb example of an architectural vogue known as Neo-Gothic, or Gothic Revival. For much of the 19th and early 20th centuries, a general revival of medieval styles, primarily Romanesque and Gothic, flourished in Europe, especially in England, France and Germany, and in the United States. This revival of historical
styles was part of a broader feeling of loss of innocence and past beauty in the face of industrialization. The use of historical parts to make a new whole is a key element of the Gothic Revival, and St. James Chapel represents an important U.S. and Chicago interpretation of this trend. Inside St. James Chapel, windows dominate. These glorious interpretations of the windows of Sainte-Chapelle are of English antique glass and were designed and painted by Robert Giles and his wife in the studio of the John J. Kinsella Co. of Chicago, the firm that cut, assembled and installed them. The pictorial scheme comprises 245 events of scriptural and Church history — the most comprehensive in existence in the United States and Europe.
Starting in 1919 and continuing through the course of several years, more than 700,000 pieces of glass were framed and installed. From the time of installation, these precious windows were protected from the elements by a layer of storm glass, one of the earliest documented examples of this technique in the United States.
The glass may appear to be authentic 13th-century Gothic in its majestic gold, crimson and purple glow, but closer inspection reveals color gradations and juxtapositions that are not to be found in the windows of Sainte-Chapelle or any windows of the 13th century. A close look at the scenes themselves reveals that they were rendered in correct perspective, a Renaissance innovation unknown to medieval artists. What we also see in the windows of St. James Chapel is a glass tonality that is superbly of its time, Art Nouveau and early Art Deco in inspiration, as should be expected from a sensitive artistic interpretation of the artistic precedent in the early 1920s.
The magnificent altar and its sculptures are of Caen limestone carved in France. The altar stands 50 feet tall. Its central figure is St. James the Greater, patron saint of travelers and pilgrims. His symbols are a staff and shell. To his left and right stand six angels, each holding a symbol associated with the crucifixion: a spear, cross, hammer and nails, pillar at which Jesus was scourged, the Eucharist of the Last Supper, and the Crown of Thorns. At the base of the altar is a sculpture depicting the Last Supper as painted by Leonardo da Vinci in his famous mural in Milan, Italy. A fine brass sanctuary light hangs above the sanctuary.
Along the north and south walls of the chapel are the 14 Stations of the Cross, a traditional Roman Catholic series of images depicting the Passion of Jesus Christ. This superb set, oil painted on copper and framed in Gothic Revival-inspired quatrefoils, is the work of a Redemptorist brother from Munich, Germany. The painting style is Nazarene, an influential 19th century German art movement which had very broad appeal.
The stations are: 1. Jesus is condemned to death; 2. Jesus accepts his cross; 3. Jesus falls for the first time; 4. Jesus meets His mother; 5. Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry the cross; 6. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus; 7. Jesus falls the second time; 8. Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem; 9. Jesus falls the third time; 10. Jesus is stripped of His garments; 11. Jesus is nailed to the cross; 12. Jesus dies on the cross; 13. Jesus’ body is taken down from the cross; 14. Jesus’ body is laid in the tomb.
Some Stations of the Cross have a 15th station depicting Jesus’ Resurrection. Quigley does not.
The 56 oak pews were manufactured by the American Seating Co. of Chicago. They seat about 450 people.
The floor tiles and marble were provided by the National Mosaic Tile Co. of Cicero, Illnois, and the seating was installed by Brady and Co. of Chicago. The great chandeliers were produced in the shops of the Pearlman Co. of Chicago. The original pipe organ was a three-manual Wangerin-Weickhardt of Milwaukee. The current organ is a 1950 Kilgarin from St. Louis.
As Europe emerged from the Dark Ages, the ability to read and write — skills we take for granted today — was the exception rather than the rule. Literacy was a privilege of the clergy, the men and women who embraced ecclesiastic life and some members of the royal court. Nevertheless, people had to learn Bible stories and morality which were the foundation of Christianity in the Middle Ages. This is where Gothic artisans played a leading role.
A Gothic cathedral was like a library, only its store of knowledge was in its statues and stained glass. The great stained glass windows of Europe’s cathedrals were, for lack of a better description, Medieval stories told frame by frame, window by window. A cathedral’s statues also told stories and implied relationships by their proximity to one another. Together, the windows and statues of a cathedral told the history of the Church, starting with the Creation and ending with Judgment Day.
Like the great cathedrals of Europe whose windows tell inter-related stories, the windows of St. James Chapel also relate stories from the Bible. St. James Chapel’s windows are read left to right, top to bottom in each lancet. (When describing the nave windows, this guide begins in the back of the church and moves toward the altar.) The following pages describe each frame of each window, and generally follow a theme. The five south nave windows tell the story of the Old Testament in chronological order and were used to teach Scripture to Quigley seminarians, starting with Creation and ending with the wars of Judas Maccabeus. The six sanctuary windows depict the life of Jesus, especially his three years of ministry and the events of Holy Week. Note that they do not proceed in chronological order; rather, focus their attention on the window directly above the altar, the Passion of Jesus Christ, which is reflected in the Unbloody Sacrifice on the altar. The three windows of the north nave tell the stories of the Acts of the Apostles, the Fathers and Doctors of the Church, and the Apostles, Missionaries and the Founders of the great religious orders. The rose window is dedicated to Mary, the Immaculate Mother of Christ. The north and south nave windows are 40 feet high and nine feet wide and contain approximately 45,000 pieces of glass each; the sanctuary windows are 30 feet high and seven feet wide; and the rose window is 28 feet in diameter. The windows are enclosed in limestone frames.
The Rose Window located on the west wall is by far the most beautiful in design, color and treatment of subject matter of the St. James Chapel windows. Although St. James Chapel is modeled after SainteChapelle, their respective rose windows differ in design and subject. The prototype for Quigley’s rose window is freely modeled after the great rose windows of the French Gothic tradition. A circular medallion forms the center, from which eight petals radiate to the perimeter of the window. The 16 “stems” of the rose extend from the center to eight medallions, and between each of them are eight trefoils.
St. James Chapel’s rose window is dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, depicting the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary and her various symbols. The keynote of the whole window is expressed in the central medallion (1), which portrays the Immaculate Conception. The eight large surrounding medallions illustrate the principal events in the life of the Mother of God. In chronological order, the medallions are read from the bottom and clockwise to the upper left. The next scene chronologically is in the lower right, and the story proceeds counterclockwise to the top. These windows portray (2) the Nativity of Mary, (3) her Presentation in the Temple, (4) her Marriage to Joseph, (5) the Annunciation, ( 6) the Flight into Egypt, (7) the Death of Mary, (8) her Assumption into Heaven, and (9) her Coronation in Heaven.
The 16 major symbols of the Blessed Virgin are pictured at the ends of each stem. Starting in the upper right and proceeding clockwise, they are (10) the Ark of the Covenant, (11) the Enclosed Garden, (12) the Burning Bush, (13) the Fleece of Gideon, (14) the Mystical Rose, (15) the Lily of Israel, (16) the Cedar of Lebanon, (17) the Palm Tree in Cades, (18) the Mystical Hill, (19) the Golden Gate, (20) the Mirror of Justice, (21) the Sealed Book, (22) the Sealed Fountain, (23) the Tower of Ivory, (24) the House of Gold, and (25) the Tower of David.
The eight trefoils contain minor symbols of the Blessed Mother. Clockwise from the upper right, they are (26) the Dove, (27) the Daughter of the King, (28) the Singular Vessel of Devotion, (29) the Terrestrial Globe, (30) the Apples, (31) the Sun, (32) the Star of Jacob and (33) the Moon.
1. Creation of Heaven and Earth
2. Creation of the Firmament
3. Creation of Vegetation Upon the Earth
4. Creation of Sun, Moon and Stars
5. Creation of Water, Fishes and Birds
6. Creation of Man
7. Naming of Animals
8. Temptation of Adam and Eve
9. Expulsion of Adam and Eve From Eden
10. Sacrifice of Abel
11. Translation of Enoch Into Heaven
12. Noah Builds the Ark
13. The Deluge
14. Sacrifice of Noah
15. Blessing Given to Sem
16. Tower of Babel
17. Call of Abraham
18. Abraham Builds an Altar at Sichem
19. Abraham Entertains Three Angels
20. Sacrifice of Melchizedeck
21. Rejection of Hagar
Cinquefoil — Jeremiah, the Messianic Prophet
1. Sacrifice of Abraham
2. Isaac marries Rebecca
3. Esau and Jacob
4. Jacob’s Vision
5. Jacob Wrestles With the Angel
6. Joseph Relates His Dream
7. Joseph Is Sold Into Egypt
8. Joseph in Prison
9. Joseph as Governor of Egypt
10. Joseph Meets His Brothers
11. Joseph’s Silver Cup
12. Joseph Receives His Father, Jacob
13. Jacob blesses his sons
14. Jacob’s Remains Carried to the Tomb
15. Death of Joseph
16. Moses in the Bulrushes
17. Moses at the Burning Bush
18. Moses and Aaron Before Pharoah
19. Death of the First-Born
20. The Paschal Lamb
21. Patience of Job
Cinquefoil — Ezekiel, the Messianic Prophet
1. Passage of the Red Sea
2. Moses Strikes the Rock at Rephidim
3. The Israelites Are Fed by Manna
4. God Gives the Ten Commandments
5. The Golden Calf
6. Aaron Is Consecrated High Priest
7. The Spies Return From the Promised Land
8. Revolt of Korah, Dachau and Abiram
9. The Brazen Serpent
10. Death of Moses
11. The Israelites Enter the Promised Land
12. Samson Kills a Lion
13. Ruth Gleaning in the Fields of Boaz
14. Prayer of Anna
15. The Call of Samuel
16. Saul Is Anointed as First King
17. David and Goliath
18. Jonathan’s Love and Saul’s Hatred for David
19. David’s Generosity Toward Saul
20. Punishment of Absalom
21. King David
Cinquefoil — Daniel, the Messianic Prophet
1. The Wisdom of Solomon
2. God Appears to Solomon
3. Jeroboam’s Altar Is Destroyed
4. Elias and the Priests of Baal
5. Bears Destroy Boys Who Mock Elisha
6. Counsels of Tobias to His Son
7. Prayer of King Esechias in the Temple
8. Obadiah, the Prophet
9. Joel, the Prophet
10. Jonah, the Prophet
11. Amos, the Prophet
12. Hosea, the Prophet
13. Micah, the Prophet
14. Nahum, the Prophet
15. Dedication of Solomon’s Temple
16. Solomon Sets up a Throne for his Mother
17. Elijah Is Fed by Ravens
18. Translation of Elijah
19. Death of Elisha
20. Tobias Travels With the Archangel Raphael
21. An Angel Destroys the Army of Sennacherib
1. The Jews Are Led Into Captivity
2. Daniel and the Three Young Men
3. Daniel Destroys the Idol of Bel
4. Daniel in the Lions’ Den
5. The Jews Return From Captivity
6. Rebuilding of the Temple Walls
7. The Seven Machabees
8. Zephaniah, the Prophet
9. Habakkuk, the Prophet
10. Baruch, the Prophet
11. Haggai, the Prophet
12. Zechariah, the Prophet
13. Expulsion of Heliodorus From the Temple
14. Mattathias
15. Judith and Holofernes
16. Daniel’s Prayer to the Lord
17. The Three Young Men in the Fiery Furnace
18. Daniel and Belshazzar
19. The Sacred Fire Is Restored
20. Martyrdom of Eleazar
21. Wars of Judas Maccabeus
1. Election of the Apostle Matthias
2. Peter and John Cure the Lame Man
3. Peter and John Thrown Into Prison
4. Ananias and Sapphira
5. The Apostles Ordain Seven Deacons
6. Martyrdom of St. Stephen
7. Philip Baptizes the Ethiopian
8. Confirmation by Peter and John
9. Conversion of Paul
10. Tabitha Is Raised to Life
11. Baptism of Cornelius
12. Peter Is Delivered From Prison
13. Elymas Is Stricken Blind
14. Paul Is Scourged at Phillipi
15. Paul Ordains Timothy
16. Paul Preaches in Athens
17. Paul Preaches Before Felix
18. Imprisonment of Paul
19. Beheading of Paul
20. Crucifixion of Peter
21. Martyrdom of James the Greater
1. St. Clement of Alexandria
2. St. Athanasius
3. St. Chrysostom
4. St. Basil
5. St. Irenaeus
6. St. Jerome
7. St. Gregory, the Great
8. St. Ambrose
9. St. Augustine of Hippo
10. St. Benedict
11. St. Augustine, Apostle of England
12. St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland
13. St. Remigius, Apostle of the Franks
14. St. Boniface, Apostle of Germany
15. St. Columba, Apostle of Scotland
16. Sts. Cyril and Methodius, Apostles of the Slavs
17. St. Stephen of Hungary
18. St. Ansgar, Apostle of the Danes
19. St. Francis Xavier
20. St. Dominic
21. St. Francis of Assisi
The first sanctuary window on the right depicts the first incidents of the New Testament as well as the childhood of Jesus. The symbols in the tracery within the arch of the window — the Cedar of Lebanon, the Star of Jacob and the Rose of Jericho — represent the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The second window from the right pictures the first year of Christ’s public life. The symbols in this window represent Christ and show an adoring angel on either side of the Agnus Dei, Lamb of God, bearing the banner of the Resurrection.
The sixth window from the right shows the second year of Christ’s ministry. The three symbols in the arch are significant of the incident shown in the lase medallion of this window. They are the Tiara, the Dove and the Keys, which represent the primacy of Peter.
The third window from the right deals with the third year of Christ’s public life. Representing the Eucharist are the three symbols: Wheat; the Chalice and the Host; and a Bunch of Grapes.
The fifth window from the right displays the principal events of Holy Week. In close harmony are the five symbolic illustrations which represent the Passion: the Crown of Thorns; the Cross with the Spear, the Sponge; the Shroud; and the Nails and Hammer.
Centered directly above and behind the altar, the fourth window from the right focuses on the Crucifixion the Resurrection and the last days of Christ upon earth. Representing the Holy Trinity are three symbols: the Holy Spirit, an Eye in a triangle, and the A and Ω on an open page.
The courtyard of Archbishop James E. Quigley Seminary is modeled after the Palais de Justice in Rouen, France, where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in 1431. Like the exterior, the courtyard has statues and reliefs that reflect the history of the archdiocese and the building itself. Five statues stand in niches on the east wall (left to right). They are St. Peter, patron of fishermen and the first pope, St. John Vianney, patron of parish priests, St. Aloysius Gonzaga, patron of youth, St. Tarcisius, patron of altar boys, and St. Casimir, patron of Poland and Lithuania. Above the statues on the spired upper windows are three bas reliefs (left to right) of an angel with the banner “Erected to the Glory of God,” the Papal Coat of Arms, and an angel with the banner “May His Name Be Praised Forever.”
The courtyard offers the best view of the base of the chapel spire on the South Wing. St. James Chapel originally had a copper spire that towered over the seminary. It was damaged during a windstorm in 1941 and dismantled.
Eight seals run south to north along the west wall of the courtyard. The first three are the Seals of the Chicago Historical Society, the Catholic Universities of America and the Rosary Guild. The next four are unknown. The final seal is of St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein.
The three niche statues along the north wall (left to right) are St. Catherine of Siena, patron of philosophy and a Doctor of the Church, St. Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary and patron of fathers, husbands and carpenters, and the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Immaculate Conception.
There is a wealth of ornamentation on the exterior and in the courtyard of Archbishop James E. Quigley Seminary. As with the rest of the architectural design of the buildings and the St. James Chapel windows, all of the ornamentation was planned carefully and communicates Archbishop Quigley Seminary’s history and inspiration.
To tour the exterior, begin on Chestnut Street at the northeast corner of Archbishop Quigley Seminary; the best views are to be had from the north side of Chestnut. On the tower above the 103 E. Chestnut St. doorway is the Episcopal Shield of George Cardinal Mundelein. Every Roman Carbolic bishop receives a Coat of Arms upon his consecration to the Episcopacy. The quadrants represent important themes in the bishop’s life. For Cardinal Mundelein, the motto Dominus Adjutor Meus, “The Lord ls My Help,” appears at the bottom of his shield. Because of Mundelein’s reputation as a strong- willed leader, some pundits suggest that the better translation of the Latin phrase is “The Lord Is My Assistant.”
The 10 statues in the niches along the north wall are the patron saints of members of the Cudahy family, who donated the funds for the Library Wing. These statues, and all of the statues on the building’s exterior, were carved in Chicago by a Belgian sculptor. Traversing the wall from east to west, the statues are: St. Joan of Arc, patron of France and the military; St. Rita, patron of desperate causes; St. Helena, discoverer of the True Cross; St. Anne, mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary; St. Cecilia, patron of music (holding a pipe organ); St. Elizabeth, patron of pregnant women; St. John the Evangelist, patron of writers; St. Clare, founder of the Poor Clares; St. Edward the Confessor, patron of those who bear witness to Christ by their lives; St. Michael the Archangel, patron of policemen.
Continuing west, at the northwest corner of the building is a statue of Archbishop James E. Quigley, which originally stood on the center of the lawn in the inner courtyard, which eventually was paved to create a parking lot.
A statue of St. George, Cardinal Mundelein’s patron, adorns the spire of the Library Tower. The statue is made of iron so that St. George’s spear also serves as a lightning rod for the building.
Around the corner and south on Rush Street are seven Seals and Coats of Arms above the top windows. Listed north to south, they are: the Seal of the State of Illinois; the Seal of Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary; the Coat of Arms of Archbishop James E. Quigley; the Coat of Arms of George Cardinal Mundelein; the Coat of Arms of Auxiliary Bishop Edward F. Hoban; the Coat of Arms of Msgr. Francis A. Purcell, the first rector; the Seal of the United States of America.
The clock tower built as an entrance to the courtyard has several interesting features. The Papal Coat of Arms of Pope Pius XI is above the clock with an inscribed dedication below. The West Wing was built between April and December 1925 and contains the building’s only inscribed reference to Mundelein as a Cardinal. On either side of the window are shields depicting the Theological Virtues (left) of Faith (cross), Charity (heart) and Hope (anchor) and the Human Virtues (right) of Justice (scales), Prudence (book), Fortitude (swords) and Temperance (lily).
On the west side of the South Wing above the Rose Window of St. James Chapel are statues (left to right) of St. Thomas Aquinas, patron saint of Bishop Thomas Foley, 1870–79, St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of Msgr. Francis Purcell, Quigley rector, 1905–31, St. James the Greater, patron saint of Archbishop James E. Quigley, 1903–15, St. George, patron saint of George Cardinal Mundelein, 1916–39, and St. Patrick, patron saint of Archbishop Patrick Feehan, 1880– 1902.
On the three corners on the exterior of the Rose Window are three statues representing three of the four Latin Doctors of the Church. They are St. Gregory the Great (northwest niche), St. Jerome (southwest niche) and St. Augustine (niche facing south). A statue of the fourth, St. Ambrose, originally stood on the north exterior before the West Wing was added. This statue is believed to be sealed in the wall of the West Wing.
On the balcony immediately below the Rose Window is the Benediction Loggia, a traditional part of church architecture used by a prelate to extend his blessing to the people gathered below. Cardinal Mundelein extended his blessing from here during the dedication of St. James Chapel.