Sodality Hall History

A sodality is, in essence, a community. Sodality derives from the Latin sodalis, or companion, and means an organization of Catholics who gather to hone their faith and community. The first Sodality Hall stood next to St. Ignatius College from 1878 to 1960 and housed the sodalities of Church of the Holy Family and St. Ignatius College. For many of the immigrant families arriving in Chicago in the late nineteenth century, Sodality Hall was more than just a building -  it was a place of companionship, learning and faith that was a vital pillar of their community. 

The original Sodality Hall began to take shape on a September morning in 1878 when several thousand Chicago Catholics marched from Saint Patrick’s Church to Church of the Holy Family to lay the cornerstone for the building. Bishop Thomas Foley was the leader of the procession from Old St. Pat’s. His generosity to the Jesuits was immense - he had donated $1,000 toward a Natural History Museum in 1874 to thank Fr. Damen for welcoming him into St. Ignatius College and allowing him to use the offices during the Great Chicago Fire. 

The cornerstone of the building told its own story. Inside was a time capsule that included newspapers, school catalogs, coins and photographs of Pope Leo XIII and Bishop Foley. The capsule included a document featuring the building's contract in Latin, the seal of St. Ignatius College and the names of the President of the United States, Governor of Illinois, Mayor of Chicago and President of St. Ignatius College. This document is preserved today in the Saint Ignatius College Prep Archives.

Sodality Hall was proposed by the fourth President of St. Ignatius College, Thomas H. Miles, S.J. He enlisted the help of architect Gregoire Vigeant, a French Canadian who made Chicago his home and designed Notre Dame de Chicago and the United Church of Hyde Park. Vigeant chose a Romanesque Revival architectural style for Sodality Hall which, paired with the Gothic notes of Holy Family and the French Second Empire influence of St. Ignatius College, created a truly unique blend of European architectural styles along Chicago’s Jesuit corridor.

The sodalities across the Jesuit campus were a crucial component in fulfilling the Jesuit mission to learning and service. Groups like the Married Men’s Sodality, Young Lady’s Sodality and the Sodality of St. Ignatius College had a home at Sodality Hall. These organizations ran community libraries, hosted night school classes and lectures, raised funds for the church, donated religious art and statues and organized outreach to Chicago’s poor. The sodalities helped promote culture and camaraderie across the community and organized baseball teams, choirs, bands and theater groups. 
 
Few photos exist of the interior of Sodality Hall and the original plans of the building have not been recovered. However, many alumni of Holy Family School, which resided in Sodality Hall from 1933 to 1960, remember fondly the beauty of the building.

“When you walked into Sodality Hall you immediately recognized that the space was sacred,” shared Fr. Steven Giovangelo, who attended grammar school in the building in the late 1950s. “The Sacred Heart and the Virgin Mary were depicted all over,” he recalled. “There were life-size statues of each in the entrance and photographs of them in every room.” Sodality’s chapel featured stained glass windows and woodworking likely from Sebastian Buscher, who’d carved the wood statues in Holy Family. 

The various offices, libraries and reading rooms were adorned with chandeliers and ornately carved bookshelves. “I remember the principal’s office was all books, head to toe,” Fr. Giovangelo told me. “There was a wrought iron wraparound staircase that went up to the second floor of books. It felt like something out of Harry Potter.”

Sodality Hall was the birthplace of the Catholic Order of Foresters in 1883, a national fraternal organization now headquartered in Naperville. St. Ignatius College frequently used Sodality Hall as a space for special events for community and learning. St. Ignatius hosted lectures from visitors, concerts, theatrical performances and oratorical competitions in the building. The rich tradition of Jesuit science flourished at Sodality Hall, with scientific demonstrations and lectures from the school’s Students Scientific Circle frequently hosted there.

Sodality Hall allowed St. Ignatius College to adapt to the changing historical circumstances of the twentieth century. During World War I, Loyola University’s temporary ROTC troop was established and headquartered in Sodality Hall. The building helped prepare American troops for service in Europe and gave the school the opportunity to serve its country. In the 1920s, increased enrollment forced branches of St. Ignatius College to temporarily relocate to Sodality Hall. Many older parishioners like Fr. Giovangelo remember Sodality Hall as the building that housed Holy Family School from 1933 to 1960.

Sodality Hall was, at its core, a space where the church and school community went to thrive. With sports, service, performances and prayer, the building truly lived up to its name and enabled community at Church of the Holy Family and St. Ignatius College for eighty-eight years. 

The building came down in 1960, but its spirit survives to this day. The project that began in 1878 and shaped so many lives will inform the future as we develop our vision for the new Sodality Hall. The proposed spaces include music rooms, science classrooms, performing arts venues and reception halls – all spaces where today’s Wolfpack will live, learn, find community and prosper.