The church organ suddenly, shrill and dissonant, in the morning, in 1961. Its unholy cacophony roused the fifteen parishioners of St. Rita from the silence of the devotions of all the faithful departed, and spontaneously turned to the choir in the opposite building to look up. see who would violate their worship.
When they saw that, their mouths dropped. Six figures of monks, three in white robes, three in black, hovered on either side of the organ, while the cold and thin dissonance continued. Through the doors the frightened herd rushed to escape, but these were now closed by a frozen mystery.
Worse still, ghostly figures began to slide from floor to floor, swimming over the rocks and toward the altar at the front of the church. And as his organ uttered its last shrill, an incorporeal voice prayed: Pray for us.
At last a mysterious wind blew through the church, pushing the doors open, and a confused crowd rushed towards him. the street
Saint Rita is located near California Ave and 63rd St. in Marquette Park, Chicago. In the early 1960s, this community of 51,000 people was composed mainly of working whites who were of German, Irish, Bohemian and Lithuanian descent. Many of them were employed in the famous Union Stockyards further east.
Most of the inhabitants belonged to Protestant denominations, but this area was also home to many Roman Catholic churches and schools such as Saint Rita. The people of Marquette Park have formed tightly knit communities around their parishes.
The first visitation at Saint Rita is said to have taken place on November 2, 1961, which is All Souls’ Day. This is the solemnity of the Roman Catholic, the commemoration of all those who have died and are laboring in Purgatory, where they are cleansed by their own minor sins, and are punished for grave sins which they did not satisfy in this world. All Souls Day is often overshadowed by the two previous days, All Saints Day a>.
On the Feast of All Souls, Catholics not only remember the dead, but also make an effort to absolve those souls in Purgatory through prayer, almsgiving and mass. According to Catholic teaching, there are two plenary indulgences attached to All Souls’ Day, one for visiting the church. and another visit to the cemetery. A full indulgence takes away all temporal punishment for sin, and in fact in Purgatory the soul receives a full indulgence and a ticket to heaven.
So what happened at Saint Rita Church on All Souls Day in 1961? Were these thin figures of poor souls, who manifested their anger in the ecclesiastical minister? Were they unhappy with the failure of the living to send sufficient prayers to effect their release into purgatory? Or was he trying to prevent the demon from gaining even a little indulgence?
On the other hand, the parish priests know about the teenage story or deny that it happened at all.
In 1974, when the late Chicago ghost-hunter, Richard Crowe, asked St. Rita’s pastor, Father Francis Fenton, about this matter, the priest exclaimed, “This not a safe place! This place is not a safe place! I repeat – there are no ghosts here. It’s a bunch of rubbish.”
Crow said that three men had told him of the incident.
“Since I’ve been here in 1936,” said Father Fenton, “I’ve seen no shadows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a little spooky.”
The question remains open. Did transparent monks float from floor to ceiling in the early 1960s, or is the story just a bunch of malarkey? Next November 2nd why does not St. Rita omit to say a prayer for the beloved deceased? Maybe they are swimming to say thank you.
SOURCES:
Chicago Haunts: Ghostlore of the Windy City by Ursula Bielski http://www.bachelorsgrove.com/newspapers/20-some-of-chicagos-favorite-haunts.html
