Project: Divine Mercy Church
Client: Society of Christ
Location: Lombard, IL
Case Study: Divine Mercy Church
Challenge: Founded by the Society of Christ, an order of priests from Poland, the parish serves the largest Polish population outside of Poland. From the beginning of the design process, the building committee challenged the architects to incorporate “an old world character” into a modern house of worship with 700 seats on a wooded lot that is one-third covered with wetlands.
Solution: The 16,000 square-foot building was erected on the highest area of the site with the fan-shaped nave facing the natural wetlands and symbolically embracing each parishioner with the mercy and love of Jesus Christ. Emerging from the treetops, the 60-foot steeple, rises to proudly signify the Polish Catholic community’s answer to 30 years of prayers for their very own church building. The warm blend of stone and brick with red and copper colored roofing, reminiscent of the street scenes in Poland, evokes feelings of familiarity and comfort.
Inside the building, the light, open Nave provides column-free seating for a centrally focused worship space in support of modern liturgy styles. To bring our interior concept to fruition, we called upon numerous Polish-American artisans for traditional finish installation and artwork, while marble selected for use on the floors, altar and font, a solid-gold tabernacle and carved wood Stations of the Cross, were all imported from Poland to highlight their rich, cultural history. Innovative lighting design and a state of the art sound system round out the marriage of history and modern building performance.
Thanks to a cohesive concept, a directed plan, and a true spirit of teamwork, the parishioners of Divine Mercy are finally living their dream.
