Polish parishes and churches in Chicago. St. Adalbert Church, the pulpit

Today the history of St. Adalbert Church is a sad story of dramatic struggle for its survival, but it
illustrates the extraordinary dynamics of American life, where churches were speedily built on an incomparable scale, but turned out to have feet of clay. Closing down a factory and ensuing demographic changes could make a parish decline as rapidly as it was first built.
The history of the parish includes a dramatic moment. In the 1970s, following the changes of the ethnic structure of the local community, its further existence was threatened. Allegedly, the closure of the church was already considered at that time. Finally, in 2016 a decision was made to suspend the operation of the church. The decision was made to sell the building to the Chicago Academy of Music. The plan was that the church was to preserve its historic character and it should be possible to celebrate the Mass there. However, the sale fell through. Ultimately decision to close church of the St. Adalbert was made in July 2019.