A sunflower blooms in the weedy lot behind Saint John Cantius Roman Catholic Church (825 North Carpenter Street) in the Goose Island neighborhood.
Saint John’s used to be a huge parish, but then it was cut off from its parishioners by the twin insults of Ogden Avenue and the Kennedy Expressway. Many of those whose homes weren’t bulldozed to make room for car culture moved to the suburbs as the neighborhood deteriorated.
Eventually the school closed, and the building was leased to the Chicago Academy for the Arts.
Today, SJC is best known for holding old school pre-1962-style masses for those who crave a taste of the past.
