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The Church and Neighborhood 

Conservation in Chicago 

The Experience of a Group 

of Chicago Pastors 

+ 

National Conference of Catholic Charities 

1346 Connecticut Avenue, N . . W. 

Washington 6, D. C. 

1955 

lT~17 



, 

D a idffied 



The Church and Neighborhood 

Conservation in Chicago 

This statement fairly well represents the thinking of the pastors in 

Chicago as expressed in their meetings over a period of two years. It 

indicates the type of progress that has been made in building neighbor-

hood organization in many parishes in the Archdiocese. There was a 

feeling that this material would be helpful to the Chicago pastors and 

to many others throttghottt the country. 

-Rt. Rev. Msgr. John O'Grady. 

About two years ago some 150 pastors of the Archdiocese of Chicago were 

called together by His Eminence Cardinal Stritch to discuss the place of the 

Church in neighborhood conservation in Chicago. At this meeting Cardinal 

Stritch pointed the way ahead for his priests and his people. "There are," he 

said, "in our city certain areas that are called 'near-blight areas.' The experts 

have studied them and they have marked them out on the map. . . . The 

realization that they can be saved has to be infused into these neighborhoods. 

Then, if the people of these areas work together under proper guidance, doing 

many rather simple things, and if public authority enforces the law, blight in 

these areas can be prevented." In these few sentences the Cardinal has said 

~ great deal. The people can conserve their neighborhoods if they are so 

minded and if they have the proper inspiration and leadership. Those who 

are inspired by the ideals of neighborhood conservation must work together. 

It is a matter that concerns everyone in the block. When one house begins to 

show signs of deterioration, when one house is converted from a single-family 

house to a multi-family dwelling, it will not be long before blight sets in and 

extends to other homes. 

In his talk to the Chicago pastors, Cardinal Stritch said: "I would like to 

have you consider this problem very thoroughly. We are in a position to do 

a great deal toward building up neighborliness and self-help in our neigh-

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borhoods." This too is a significant statement. Building up neighborliness 

and self-help means alerting the people to things that make for dissatisfac-

tion in the individual blocks. Why do people move away from these neigh-

borhoods? Because they become concerned about the lack of law enforce-

ment. They will tell you it is not safe to be on the streets at night. The 

natural thing is to complain about the police. It is a fact, however, that the 

police will be alerted if the people are alerted. If the people want law en-

forcement, the police will give it to them. 

Cardinal Stritch has emphasized the importance of doing simple things in 

the neighborhood. It is surprising what the multiplication of simple things 

will do. A negro family had moved into a certain block in a Chicago parish. 

One man on the block called on the pastor. The pastor suggested that he 

talk over the matter with his neighbors and try to convince them that the 

presence of a negro family would not necessarily blight the block. At the 

suggestion of the pastor a small committee called on the negro family and 

welcomed them to the neighborhood. They emphasized that the people in 

the block were pledged to do everything possible for the conservation of 

their homes and invited the negro family to join with them. They explained 

their attitude toward converting single-family houses into multi-family houses. 

They emphasized their basic ideas on block conservation, their desire to pre-

serve in the block a proper environment for the maintenance and building up 

of family life, in which neighbors would join together in a program of self-

help and in the spirit and practice of Christian charity. 

The people in this block began their program in a simple way. Each one 

agreed to keep his own home in good condition, and to maintain attractive 

lawns and yards. They agreed to help one another in repairing their homes. 

One older worker in the block who could no longer maintain the pace de-

manded by the contractors., agreed to take on odd jobs that he could do on 

his own time and at his own pace. This was much less expensive for the 

neighbors than the use of a contractor. 

What was done on this block soon spread to other blocks. The past<X 

served as the inspirer. As people from different blocks · came to see him he 

encouraged them to join with their neighbors in conserving their homes and 

maintaining a proper environment for family life. 

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Abandoning the Old Homes 

In speaking to the Chicago pastors at the meeting previously mentioned, 

Cardinal Stritch emphasized another salient point. "Naturally," he said, "there 

is another phase to our pastoral problem. As things are going now, we are 

. building a new Archdiocese on the perimeter of Chicago. This is a very 

heavy burden. It would not be so great, if we would only try to save Chicago 

------save Chicago from itself, save Chicago from some of its greedy citizens ... 

We can not only reclaim some of the blighted areas ... but we can prevent 

other areas from becoming blighted." People in Chicago have often asked: 

Why do so many families run away from their old homes, from their old 

churches, from their old neighborhoods and find their way out into the 

suburbs where they buy homes of inferior quality? They do not take into 

consideration the additional costs involved in suburban living. They forget 

the long distances that must be travelled to and from work. They forget that 

they must pay their share of the cost of new sewerage systems, new electric 

light installations, new streets and sidewalks, new schools, new churches. 

The factors that enter into this flight from the city are by no means simple. 

The people have a feeling that the old neighborhood is beginning to deteri-

orate. They talk about lack of law enforcement. There is no real di,scussion 

of these problems among the neighbors. There is no discussion of what they 

can do to control the flight from the old neighborhood. No positive effort 

is made to develop a feeling of pride in their old neighborhood, in the old 

Church in which they were baptized, in which they were married and which 

enshrines so many of their sacred memories. 

Flight from the old Chicago neighborhoods is not inevitable. The experi-

ence of a number of pastors has already demonstrated that something can be 

done about it. Many of them have profited by the experience of the older 

parishes. They have had the vision to look ahead and to prepare their people 

by a positive educational program. They have come to regard this educational 

program of equal importance with their school program, as something in which 

every organization of the parish should participate, including the Holy Name 

Society, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, the Legion of Mary, the Christian 

Family Movement. This program, they feel, must be a positive one. They 

regard it as a chailenge to the development of a new and more positive type 

of social organilation in their parishes. 

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Monsignor McMahon, pastor of St. Sabina's Church in Chicago, has aptly 

summed up his own thinking and the thinking of other pastors when he says, 

"We , should aim to give our people every type of service-religious, civic 

and re~reational. . . . By education and especially by example we should sell 

our people the idea that 'nowhere else can you find the service and conveni-

ences that our particular parish can give you.' Since it is impossible for the 

priests themselves to give this service to their people, it is necessary to or-

ganize lay units which will be an extension of their zeal and their charity." 

One can readily see from this statement that Monsignor McMahon is pointing to 

a new day in parish organization. He is pointing to the time when parish 

organizations will be a new social force in the American community. But 

Monsignor McMahon is not thinking about Catholic organizations working 

single-handed and alone. He thinks of them as a force working side by side 

with the forces that are thrown up by other religious and civic groups. ;He 

regards the conservation of the neighborhood and the community as a 

challenge to all the people, not only to organizations but to each individual. 

He is thinking not merely of maintaining buildings and property. He is think-

ing about the upbuilding of people, about the strengthening of family life, 

about the social upbuilding of neighborhoods. In other words, he would 

like to see a new program of Christian neighborliness in every block and in 

every community. He does not think of such a program as something that 

can be developed by government, but rather as something that must grow out 

of the deepest convictions of all the people. Such a program, of course, will 

call for inspired leaders here and there throughout our communities-for 

people who can stimulate self-help, who can plumb the enormous possibilities 

of the individual and the possibilities for self-help and mutual aid that are to 

_be found in every block and in every neighborhood. 

How Does One Begin? 

One of the questions most frequently asked about programs of neighbor-

hood conservation is, how does one begin? The Chicago pastors have learned 

a good deal through the exchange of experiences at their meetings during 

the past two years. This does not mean that each pastor has slavishly followed 

the others. The meetings have stimulated each pastor to do his own thinking 

and to apply the ideas. that he has gathered from the meetings to the peculiar 

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problems of his own parish ·and his own neighborhood. The time has come, 

however, to set down in writing certain ideas or guides that may be useful 

in a broad educational program at the parish, neighborhood and community 

levels. 

We should begin by saying that the pastor's best approach is discussion 

with other pastors who have had some experience in neighborhood conserva-

tion. There are some pastors, of course, who feel that this problem does not 

affect them. Their parishes have not been threatened. They are living in new 

neighborhoods; they have new parishes, new congregations. But more and 

more pastors are beginning to feel that no neighborhood is immune. If blight 

is allowed to spread without any controls, there is no stopping it. It will soon 

reach new areas of the city; On the other side there are the pastors who say 

that their parishes are already gone, that there is nothing to be saved except 

a few boarding houses. To these pastors it might be said that many of the old 

downtown and near downtown areas will have to be rebuilt. They will have 

to be rebuilt in such a way as to provide housing accommodations for large 

numbers of families that do not come within the purview of existing housing 

programs. Housing in the suburban areas is being built largely for families 

with . young children. Older . families, for the most part, are still living in 

blighted areas. If these areas have to be cleared, some provision must be made 

for these families through private housing of one kind or another. Only a 

limited number can be accommodated in public housing. In the first place, 

they do not qualify for public housing and secondly, the number of public 

housing units will be quite limited in the foreseeable future. In other words, 

the pastors and the people in these old downtown parishes cannot abandon 

all hope for their restoration. The land that they now occupy cannot be used 

exclusively for industrial, commercial, health and educational programs. A 

very large part of it will still have to be used for housing. Another point 

to be remembered is that the people themselves will have some say as to what 

use is going to be made of this land. We need more public discussion of what 

will happen to the families whose homes are demolished by the clearing of 

the downtown or near-downtown areas . 

The Chicago pastors have begun their work of neighborhood conservation 

in a .very informal way. Some of them have begun by participating in neigh-

hood conservation movements organized by other groups. They have en-

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couraged their parishioners to attend the meeting~ of the different groups and 

to participate actively with them. In fact in many instances their own work 

has grown out of the experience they have acquired through such participa-

tion. 

From their part!opation in the work of other groups some pastors have 

decided to begin with a complete census of their parishes. This has given 

them a chance of studying the problems of their families and of the neigh-

borhoods. It has provided a good opportunity of studying the housing prob-

~ems and of encouraging their own people to keep their homes in good con-

dition . It has also given them a chance of encouraging their parishioners to 

join with other groups in neighborhood conservation movements . 

Place of the Laity in Conservation Movement 

As neighborhood conservation has been developed, the priests have come 

to see more clearly the place of the laity in this work. Some of the pastors 

regard it as fundamentally a lay program calling for lay leadership. They re-

gard themselves as inspirers of the movement. They feel that it is an op-

portunity for developing lay leadership in their parishes. They feel that the 

laity can frequently deal more effectively with other groups than the priest. 

Other pastors assume a considerable amount of leadership. They feel that they 

ought to be in the program with the lay people all the time. 

Some Beginnings 

It has been the experience of people interested in genuine neighborhood 

and block organization that the groups or individuals participating in it 

should learn by doing simple . things. Ther~ are many simple things that 

people can do in their own neighborhoods. For example, the pastor can begin 

by keepiag the parish property in good condition; others will follow his 

example. People can get together for the purpose of discussing ways and 

means of keeping their own homes in good repair. They can discuss the 

question of garbage disposal. They can discuss complaints in regard to law 

enforcement. They can discuss ways and means of getting rid of unsightly 

buildings. They can discuss ways and means of making the neighborhood 

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a proper place for the maintenance of family life. These simple things do 

not require elaborate organization and yet they help people to grow up; they 

give them an appreciation of their own strengths. As they gain strength by 

doing simple things they will be ready to face new problems. They will 

want to discuss what can be done in an over-all program for housing in their 

district or neighborhood. 

A writer in the Louisville Courier-Journal for May 23, 1954 thus describes 

the conservation movement in the "Back of the Yards" neighborhood in 

Chicago in which the Catholic priests have joined together with other groups: 

"Thousands of families in this once-underprivileged and run-down area have 

teamed together to produce an amazing rejuvenation. 

"Driven by a fierce pride in their homes, churches, families and old associa-

tions, they've abandoned the practice of 'letting George do it.' 

"For the first time in a generation, new homes are being built on old 

vacant lots. There's the gleam of new white paint on once-rundown houses. 

Local banks are beginning to increase the dollars available for home-improve-

ment loans." 

What are Our Housing Needs? 

Our pastors and neighborhood leaders have learned that they must know 

the needs of their own communities before they can agree upon housing or 

neighborhood betterment goals. In this area, neighborhood leaders may bring 

an important influence to bear on city and national planning. 

No . matter how successfully the neighborhood rehabilitation and renewal 

program may be carried out, it cannot possibly meet the total needs of the 

people without significant additions to the housing supply. Neighborhood 

leaders should know that there were 15 million substandard homes in the 

United States as disclosed by the 1950 Census, and that 10 million of these 

homes were located in urban centers. These homes must be replaced in the 

years ahead, and families living in them must be rehoused. National housing 

experts estimate that if in the next 20 or 30 years we are to replace bad hous-

ing, keep abreast of current obsolescence, replace homes destroyed by disaster 

or demolished for some public purpose and at the same time provide decent 

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housing for new families, we must provide at least 2,000,000 new homes 

each year. This is twice as many new homes as are included in present , esti-

mates, even with the aids provided in the Housing Act of 1954. In 1950 

there were 1,106,119 dwellings in the city of Chicago, as shown by the Census; 

23% of these, or more than 250,000, were substandard, that is, they were 

dilapidated, lacked inside hot running water or bathing or toilet facilities. 

It is doubtful if the nation will plan for its actual needs, until neighbor-

hoods and larger communities survey their own housing requirements and 

insist that they be met. Neighborhood leaders in Chicago can insist upon 

a survey of the facts; they can insist that planning, redevelopment and housing 

officials cooperate in the discovery and publication of those facts . Neighbor-

hood leaders and their associates can start with a survey of housing needs 

in their own immediate neighborhoods. A realistic housing program can be 

built more effectively from the neighborhood up than from the Fderal Gov-

ernment down. 

On the basis of need it will be discovered that new homes must be pro-

vided for many groups-families with children, families whose members are 

older, and single people. Housing must be provided for people of different 

income levels. For years we have estimated that at least ten percent of our new 

homes must be allocated for families of very low income, through .low-rent 

public housing. Those families cannot afford to pay the rents that private 

enterprise is compelled to charge. The upper-middle-income groups as well 

as those in the highest brackets can and must be taken care of by private 

enterprise. 

Thus, we have the great challenge of providing decent shelter for nearly 

one-third of our families who fall within the lower middle-income group, and 

are not eligible for public housing. They also must have adequate shelter 

at a price they can afford to pay. One of our best hopes to meet this need 

is cooperative housing. A number of Chicago pastors are giving serious · con-

sideration to cooperative housing. It presents a serious challenge to theh1. 

While we do not have many illustrations of cooperative housing under Church 

auspices in the United States, we have many outstanding examples in Canada, 

Germany, Belgium and Holland. In this country cooperative housing has had 

limited success under labor union, veteran and non-profit foundation Spbnsor-

ship. We must also explore ways and means of providing better credit facili-

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ties, lower interest rates, and longer amortization terms for families of middle 

income. Private enterprise, if it will, can do much to pioneer in this field . 

While we have real hopes for cooperative housing, we question whether this 

implement can provide housing on the scale needed by our lower-middle-

income families. FHA can reach the upper middle-income groups, including 

those who can afford to pay over $85 a month but it certainly cannot reach 

those who can pay a maximum of $65 a month. A new type of government 

assistance is needed to enable this group to meet the service charges on their 

own homes. 

Progress During the Past Two Years 

The priests of Chicago have made real progress in the promotion of neigh· 

borhood and parish conservation groups during the past two years. They have 

really led the way in the United States in pioneering in neighborhood self-

help organization. They have given us a new picture of the potentialities of 

Catholic organization on a parish basis. Under their leadership, we have 

witnessed a new type of Catholic organization that expresses the best in our 

Catholic life. Under their leadership, we find the people working together 

as neighbors in their common interests. We see them spreading the practice 

of personal service in the block and in the neighborhood. We see a spirit 

growing up that represents a truly Christian revival, often reaching out and 

embracing groups of other religious faiths, so that the whole community 

moves as one towards the basic objective not merely of conserving the physical 

properties of the neighborhood, but of promoting the growth of the individual, 

and the development of a sense of community responsibility for the building 

of neighborhoods in which the finest ideals of family and religious life can 

be realized. 

One of the many significant things about this new type of parish organiza-

tion in Chicago is the recognition on the part of the priests that they cannot 

work alone, that they need lay leadership and close working relationships with 

other religious and civic groups. 

It has been encouraging to note the extent to which members of the different 

parishes have been working with other groups, trying to learn from them as 

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well as to give them an understanding of their own ideals, their own philos-

ophy and their own objectives. This is really a new phase in the develop-

ment of Catholic life and in the development of neighborhood leadership in 

the community as a whole. 

Relationships with Governmental Organizations 

It is now generally recognized in Chicago that the vast programs of neigh-

borhood conservation that are being developed cannot possibly succeed with· 

out the participation and the leadership of voluntary groups, and without in-

dependent thinking on the part of these groups, especially those organized 

on a neighborhood and parish basis. Such leadership on the part of the citizens 

is necessary to put the program on a high plane. It is necessary in order to 

lift it above the selfish interests of the different groups involved. It is neces-

sary in order to lift it above the thinking and planning of highly specialized 

groups. Enlightened lay people will recognize the contribution of these special-

ized groups, but as they study the problems in their own neighborhood, they 

will recognize more ·and more that plans for Chicago cannot be made by 

specialized groups, that they must be made by an enlightened citizenry or-

ganized in the neighborhood and in the parish and inspired by the highest 

ideals of Christian neighborhood service. 

Steps Ahead 

The conferences held by the priests m the different sections of Chicago 

during the past two years should be continued and at the same time an effort 

should be made to include other priests in the discussions. This is a practical 

method of further utilizing the experience that has already been acquired. 

Another important step for the future is the development of a literature 

that will make the experience of the Chicago parishes better known to the 

Catholic people as a whole in the Archdiocese and throughout the country. 

Some beginnings have been made in the development of such a literature, but 

much more needs to be done. The priests in Chicago have been somewhat 

timid about publicizing their experience. They have felt that they were 

struggling with difficult problems and were gradually finding their way. They 

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were also afraid that too much publicity might not help them. Their note of 

caution, however, must be recognized in any of the literature that is de-

veloped. In the development of the literature, one must always keep in mind 

the positive side of neighborhood conservation. What the priests have been 

thinking about is the conservation of family life, the building of neighborhoods 

in which the finest ideals of Catholic family life will be possible. They are 

experim~tnting with a type of organization that would be of value in all 

parishes, not merely those that are stricken with blight, but also parishes that 

are struggling for the development of programs that will bring new life to 

their people. 

There is much that the schools-grade schools, high schools and colleges-

can do in the development of the new type of parish organization and programs 

that are being envisaged by the priests of Chicago. Some of the high schools 

have already sponsored contests designed to improve neighborhood life. They 

are talking about the extent to which high scht>Ol children can contribute to 

the beautification of their own homes and their gardens. This is bound to 

give the young people a pride in making their neighborhoods a better place 

in which to live. What has been done in the high schools might be followed 

in the higher grades in the grammar schools. It should also be possible for 

colleges to relate their teaching to ways and means in which the students can 

participate in programs for the improvements of their own neighborhoods. 

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