As Catholic wedding planners, there are few things we love more than beautiful, historic churches! After all, we got our own start in wedding planning at Indianapolis’ gorgeous Sacred Heart of Jesus. Chicago is basically our favorite place in the world to do weddings. After all, it is absolutely bursting with incredible churches. Every time we are in Chicago, we pick several churches to tour while we are in town. Several years in, we are still discovering more! And finally, on a trip for a recent venue visit, we finally visited the third of Chicago’s three basilicas.

What is a basilica?

A basilica is a church that has been elevated to a basilica because of historical significance or another noteworthy reason. Most cities in the United States that have a basilica can only came one, and many cities have none. Chicago has three! Here are the three basilicas of Chicago, and our thoughts as Catholic wedding planners.

Our Lady of Sorrows Basilica

Our Lady of Sorrows is a west side church that is positively massive! It’s an Italian Renaissance style church dating back to the 1870s. It’s been featured in several movies, and is also home to the Shrine of St. Peregrine. This church is unbelievable. The ceiling features an ombre style gradient that is reminiscent of a sunset. One of the most amazing features is that some of the pews are reversible! The church is so large that the pastor used to have to preach from the center of the church, before the days of electronic sound systems. The front half of the congregation would stand, reverse their pews, and face backwards for the homily. This basilica also holds a replica of the Pieta that is to scale.

St. Hyacinth Basilica

St. Hyacinth Basilica in Chicago is a landmark of the city’s vibrant Polish Catholic heritage, located in the Avondale neighborhood on the Northwest Side. Completed in 1921 and designed in the Baroque Revival style, the basilica features an impressive façade, soaring twin towers, and a richly ornamented interior filled with stained-glass windows, intricate murals, and traditional Polish religious art. We were particularly awed by the amazing painted dome that tops the center of the church. This was the first of Chicago’s basilicas that we visited, and we didn’t get many photos because even on a work day with bad weather, the church was full of people praying.

Queen of All Saints

Once we had visited two basilicas, we knew we had to get the third under our belts as well, so after a client meeting was over, we headed out to Queen of All Saints! This church is set in a quiet suburban neighborhood and it’s incredibly serene. In a city full of polish style churches, this dark gothic church stands out. It’s full of cool, dark marble and feels very quiet.

Since these three visits to Chicago’s basilicas, we have added several more Chicago churches to our visit list and I’m sure we’ll add more! Our adventures as Catholic wedding planners will continue.

To see some of our beautiful churches in Indianapolis, check this post out!

The Most Beautiful Churches of Indianapolis