Basilica of Saint Hyacinth
church in Chicago, USA
The Basilica of Saint Hyacinth (Polish: Bazylika Świętego Jacka) is a historic church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, located at 3636 West Wolfram Street in the Avondale neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois.
It is a prime example of the Polish Cathedral style of churches in both its opulence and grand scale. Along with such monumental religious edifices as St. Mary of the Angels, St. Hedwig's, and St. Wenceslaus, it is one of the many monumental Polish churches visible from the Kennedy Expressway.
St. Hyacinth was designated a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 2003, one of three churches in the Archdiocese of Chicago to hold that status. The parish remains active, with weekend Masses in Polish and English drawing more than 8,000 worshippers.
History
Founded in 1894 by Resurrectionists from the city's first Polish parish, St.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Basilica of Saint Hyacinth” as church in Chicago, USA. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as church in Chicago, USA. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 4, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4867380. VIAF identifies the subject as 129425591. The Library of Congress control number is no2010102759. Authority coordinates are 41.934, -87.719. 3 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2003 and 1894.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Basilica of Saint Hyacinth”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Basilica of Saint Hyacinth primary sources, Basilica of Saint Hyacinth archive and Basilica research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
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- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
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This entry incorporates text from “Basilica of Saint Hyacinth” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.