The church’s organ blared suddenly, shrilly, and discordantly that morning in 1961. Its unholy cacophony startled the fifteen Saint Rita’s parishioners from their quiet All Souls Day devotions, and they instinctively turned to look up at the choir loft in the rear of the building to see who was profaning their worship.
What they saw made their jaws drop. Six monk-like figures, three robed in white and three in black hovered on either side of the organ as it continued to churn out its chilling and ghostly dissonance. The frightened flock rushed to escape through the doors, but these were now mysteriously frozen shut.
Worse yet, the spectral figures began to glide from the loft down to the main floor, floating through the pews and towards the altar at the front of the church. As the organ emitted its final shrieking note a disembodied voice pleaded, “Pray for us.”
Finally, a mysterious wind blew through the church, forcing the doors open, and the terrified congregation dashed out to the street.
Saint Rita’s is situated near California Ave and 63rd St. in Chicago’s Marquette Park. In the early 1960’s this community had a population of 51,000 composed mainly of working-class whites who were of German, Irish, Bohemian, and Lithuanian descent. Many of them were employed at the famous Union Stockyards farther to the east.
Most residents belonged to Protestant denominations, but this district was also home to many Roman Catholic churches and schools like Saint Rita’s. Marquette Park’s people formed tightly knit communities around their parishes.
The ghostly visitation at Saint Rita’s is said to have occurred on November 2, 1961, which is the date for All Souls Day. This is a solemn feast in the Roman Catholic Church commemorating all of those who have died and are now suffering in Purgatory where they are cleansed of their minor sins and punished for the serious sins they have not atoned for while in this world. All Souls Day is often overshadowed by the two days preceding it, Halloween and All Saints Day.
On All Souls Day, Catholics not only remember the dead, but make efforts to release those souls in Purgatory through prayer, almsgiving, and the Mass. According to Catholic doctrine there are two plenary indulgences attached to All Souls Day, one for visiting a church and another for visiting a cemetery. A plenary indulgence removes all temporal punishment for sin–and so, in effect, a soul in Purgatory receives a full pardon and a ticket to heaven.
So what happened at Saint Rita’s Church back on All Souls Day in 1961? Were these ghostly figures indeed unhappy souls who were manifesting their anger over the paltry church attendance? Were they unhappy with the living’s failure to send sufficient prayers to effect their release from Purgatory? Or was it a demonic attempt to thwart even a small gain of indulgences?
On the other hand, parish priests described the story as a teenage hoax or deny it ever happened at all.
In 1974 when the late Chicago ghost-hunter, Richard Crowe asked Saint Rita’s pastor, Father Francis Fenton, about this incident, the priest exclaimed, “This place is not haunted! This place is not haunted! I’ll repeat–there are no ghosts around here. It’s a bunch of nonsense.”
Crowe retorted that three people had told him of the incident.
“I’ve been here since 1936,” said Father Fenton, “I’ve seen no ghosts…with the possible exception of myself… I can be a little spooky.”
The question remains open. Did transparent monks float from the loft to the chancel in the early 1960s, or is the story just a bunch of malarkey? Next November 2nd why not drop by Saint Rita’s to say a prayer for a deceased loved one? Maybe they’ll float by to say thanks.
SOURCES:
Chicago Haunts: Ghostlore of the Windy City by Ursula Bielski http://www.bachelorsgrove.com/newspapers/20-some-of-chicagos-favorite-haunts.html
