Three potential buyers are lined up to purchase the St. Maurice Church property at 3615 S. Hoyne Ave., Chicago, Fr. Ismael Sandoval-Manzo stated in the November 17, 2024, church bulletin for Blessed Sacrament Parish.
“It took almost three years for Chicago Public Schools to respond to us about the possibility to buy the property,” Sandoval-Manzo wrote.
“Just a couple months [ago] they said they were not interested,” Sandoval-Manzo said. “Also, they did not want to renew the lease that ends at the end of this school year.”
Closing Velma Thomas Preschool
The Velma Thomas Early Childhood Center, a Chicago Public Schools (CPS) preschool, is the church property’s sole tenant and would need to move or close when it loses access to St. Maurice.
The Velma Thomas Early Childhood Center occupies multiple buildings of the St. Maurice Church property.“We have three offers we received,” Sandoval-Manzo wrote. “With the help of members of the finance council, we are evaluating them to make a final decision.”
Co-Locate in Pilsen or Brighton Park
Parishioners objected to the Archdiocese of Chicago’s deconsecration of St. Maurice in 2020, as previously reported here in the McKinley Park News. However, debt burden and needed repairs for the property were unmanageable, the archdiocese said.
Although community leaders and parents have protested the closure of the school, CPS has shared plans to move Velma Thomas and co-locate it at either James Shields Elementary School in the Brighton Park neighborhood or the Cooper Dual Language Academy in the Pilsen neighborhood.
Lauded for Excellence
As previously reported here in the McKinley Park News, Velma Thomas has been lauded for excellence, including a Gold Circle of Quality in the ExceleRate Illinois program and the top-most Award of Excellence in Preschool Teaching and Learning from the Illinois State Board of Education.
The St. Maurice property comprises the church and multiple other buildings occupying lots on South Hoyne Avenue and West 36th Street.
From what I've heard, the Archdiocese of Chicago has been removing all religious artifacts from the church in advance of its sale.
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