Christ The King Fire, Chicago, Oct. 7, 2015

Chicago, 10/7/15–Statues of saints stand by as firefighters battle a blaze at the Shrine of Christ the King Church in Woodlawn. | Vincent D. Johnson/for Sun-Times Media

On the morning of October 7, 2015 the Shrine of Christ the King in Chicago’s Woodlawn neighborhood was engulfed in flames. Being close by where I live, the Sun Times called me up to see if I could over the blaze.

As one of the few congregations that was still holding a Latin Mass as of 2022, I was reminded of this story because of a recent Chicago Tribune article where I photographed the Latin Mass at St. John Cantius and the story mentioned the Shrine of Christ the King. Given that the anniversary of the fire is just a few short days after writing posting the first story, I figured I’d add a post some photos and video of the fire too.

Some of these were never published or even submitted. Here’s a link to the original story.

Chicago, 10/7/15–Flames were still shooting out of the roof as firefighters battles a blaze at the Shrine of Christ the King Church in the Woodlawn neighborhood on the south side. | Vincent D. Johnson/for Sun-Times Media
Chicago, 10/7/15–Water was rushing out the front doors of the Shrine of Christ the King Church as firefighters battled a blaze in the historic church on the corner of 64th & Woodlawn. | Vincent D. Johnson/for Sun-Times Media
Chicago, 10/7/15–Debris from the Shrine of Christ the King Church floated as far as a block away as multiple fire units were on the scene to battle the blaze in the historic church. | Vincent D. Johnson/for Sun-Times Media
Photo copyright of Vincent David Johnson.

Standing like a gargoyle, a Chicago fire fighter looks over the still smoldering roof of the Shrine of Christ the King Church, Oct. 7, 2015.
Chicago, 10/7/15–Statues of saints stand by as firefighters battle a blaze at the Shrine of Christ the King Church in Woodlawn. | Vincent D. Johnson/for Sun-Times Media