Former St. John of God Church in Chicago, side view [Polish parishes and churches in Chicago]

The community of St. John of God was extremely important among the Polish parishes of Chicago, which is why it was frequently and willingly visited. Among its guests were: Archbishop of Vilnius Jan Cieplak, Bishop Teodor Kubina from Częstochowa, Ignacy Paderewski, General Józef Haller and many others. However, with the collapse of the meat industry, the district started to depopulate and the parish started to decline. In 1992, when it was closed, the church still held services in Polish, as well as in English and Spanish. In 2010 the church was dismantled, and its façade was transported to Old Mill Creek, 50 miles north of Chicago, where a new parish community is building St. Raphael the Archangel Church using elements from two closed Chicago churches: St. John of God and St. Peter Canisius (built in 1932 in the Austin district, closed in 2007). The façade of St. John of God’s Church was reconstructed there in its original shape.