The 28th International Eucharistic Congress, June 20-24, 1926 signaled the emergence of the Catholic Church into the mainstream of American culture, and of Chicago as a major international city. One million dignitaries and pilgrims traveled from around the globe to participate in the convocation, “perhaps the single greatest religious gathering in the history of Chicago, with thousands of visitors crowding sessions at Soldier Field and on the seminary grounds in Lake County” (Avella, 716).
The “Catholic Chicago” exhibit at the Chicago History Museum highlighted the Congress as a signal event in the history of the city, since it proved to the world that Chicago was capable, only 55 years after the Great Fire, to host the “Catholic Olympics.”
George William Mundelein oversaw all the planning and acted as host for the Congress. Mundelein came to Chicago as archbishop in 1916 and became “the first Cardinal of the West” in 1924. The committee of clergy and laymen that he gathered in the same year planned an event that would proclaim the numbers and importance of Catholics in Chicago, but avoid inciting the anti-Catholic sentiment prevalent at the time (Fairman, 207). The five-day Congress included a mass at Holy Name Cathedral, three open-air services that packed Soldier Field, and meetings at the Coliseum, Municipal Pier (now Navy Pier), and other locations around the city. It culminated with the movement of nearly a million people from Chicago north to the archdiocesan seminary in Mundelein for the closing service and procession, a feat the Chicago History Museum (CHM) exhibit describes as “the largest public transportation effort in the country.”
The Congress was arguably Cardinal Mundelein’s greatest achievement in terms of impact on the city and the world, and he made sure that the Congress was thoroughly documented using the most up-to-date technology available. In fact Michael Cardinal von Faulhaber of Munich, one of the dozen cardinals in attendance, complained, “One thing to be regretted was the annoyance of the photographers who, on this [June 24] as on the preceding days, made their appearance during the holiest parts of the services, even at the Consecration” (Von Faulhaber). Mundelein arranged for 20th Century Fox to produce a 70-minute motion picture about the Congress, and even had some events broadcast via radio. As a consequence there is a rich repository of photographs, books, and other documentation about the Congress.
These photographs digitized for this project contain a fascinating amount of social and historical information that will be available to researchers for the first time. The viewer can study the devotional practices and attitudes evident in the postures and behavior of the thousands participating in services. One can spot dignitaries both in the spotlight and in the crowds, e.g., Al Smith in the stands at Soldier Field. Several photographs depict minorities, e.g., an African-American parish delegation, and Eskimo pilgrims braving the Chicago summer heat in fur parkas. The photographs capture historical vistas and venues, such as Soldier Field, the Coliseum, and the Chicago skyline and street scenes. Modes of transportation—trains, automobiles, ships—are also depicted.
There were five collections of photographs selected for digitization:
- Kaufmann & Fabry photographs
- George Cardinal Mundelein Presentation Album
- Scrapbook
- Smith Collection
- Chicago Architectural Photographing Co. Collection
The project also includes two souvenir publications that provide context for the photograph
collection:
- XVIII International Eucharistic Congress: June 20-24, 1926. Chicago: XVIII International Eucharistic Congress, ©1926.
- A Photographic History of the Eucharistic Congress: Held in Chicago, ILL., June 20-24, 1926. Chicago: The Chicago Herald and Examiner(?), 1926.
After the inception of the project, we received permission from a private collector to add 3 books of souvenir postcards and 35 tinted glass lantern slides.
Imaging was produced by Luna Imaging, Los Angeles, CA and in-house. USML is in the process of mounting the images in the North Suburban Library System Digital Past site.
