Information about the ownership of the former Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Church in Austin is sparse, but two things are known for certain.
The City of Chicago has brought suit against the current owner of the boarded-up church at 832 N. Leclaire Ave. and “seeks to abate dangerous and unsafe conditions at the property in question.”
Second, the graffiti and broken windows that pock the church’s exterior belie the building’s profound internal and structural problems, including cracked rafters, exposed wiring, and masonry that has stress fractures.
The city filed its suit April 17, 2025 in Cook County Circuit Court, against St. Mark International Christian Church, along with the California-based mortgage holder and the apparent contract buyer. The cause for the case is to be continued for jurisdiction on June 8 at the Daley Center.
“The Chicago Department of Buildings (DOB) remains committed to ensuring the safety of our communities through our enforcement action,” said Nefsa’Hyatt Brown, director of public affairs. “DOB has conducted various inspections at the St. Mark International Christian Church, resulting in enforcement actions escalating to the Department of Law in 2021 and 2026.
“DOB inspectors have documented various violations posing a hazard to the surrounding community and have ordered the building vacated and secured. Upon reinspection, our team documented that the building was open, leading to the most recent referral to the Department of Law. The property is currently in active litigation”
Major internal, structural damage
According to the Archdiocese of Chicago real estate department, Our Lady Help of Christians Church was sold in March 2006 to St. Mark International Christian Church, which has locations at 400 N. 5th Ave. in Maywood and Kennesaw, GA. Multiple calls to both locations were not returned. There was also no response to an email to local church pastor Andre Thurmon, who is named in the lawsuit.
No information was available from mortgage holder Ministry Partners Investment Company, LLC in Brea, CA. Jerry Kurzac, who the lawsuit terms a trustee and contract buyer, could not be located.
Additionally, there was no response to multiple requests for information and comment from the 37th Ward Ald. Emma Mitts.
But the lawsuit contends there have been dangerous and unsafe conditions at the vacant and open premises since at least September 2024. The long list includes:
- A heating system that is missing ductwork, stripped, inoperable and has vandalized.
- Missing and warped flooring.
- Missing roof shingles.
- Broken or missing plaster and damaged studding.
- Masonry that has step or stress fractures and washed-out mortar joints.
- Broken or missing glazing, with cracked panes.
- Broken, missing or inoperable sashes.
- A plumbing system that is missing fixtures, stripped and inoperable, with approximately six inches of standing water in the basement.
- A staircase with damaged decking and handrails.
- Cracked rafters.
- An electrical system with exposed wiring and missing fixtures that is stripped and inoperable.
- Damaged joints.
Many of the issues identified in the suit are possibly due to smoke, fire or water damage, according to the city’s lawsuit.
According to the first of seven counts indicated in the suit, the city of Chicago requests the court issue an order to either require the defendants to demolish, repair, enclose or clean up the property under proper city permits; authorize the city to do the same, with costs paid by the defendants as a judgment against them; or appoint a receiver to correct the conditions with full powers of receivership. The city also asks the court to permit foreclosure of any city liens against the property.
The second count requests the court assess civil penalties against the defendants in the maximum amount per day from the date of service of summons in the case “until the dangerous and unsafe or uncompleted and abandoned condition is abated.”
Church’s long history
According to information gleaned from archdiocesan archives, Our Lady Help of Christians was founded as a mission of St. Catherine of Siena Church in Oak Park in the 1890s. In summer 1901, Rev. Louis A. Campbell, St. Catherine of Siena pastor, authorized construction of a church building at Iowa Street and Leamington Avenue, with then-Archbishop Patrick A. Feehan reorganizing the mission as a parish that fall. The first resident pastor was Rev. Joseph P. O’Reilly.
St. Catherine-St. Lucy Church at Austin and Washington in Oak Park was closed a year ago and is currently for sale by the archdiocese.
At first, O’Reilly named the parish Our Lady of Mercy but shortly changed the name to Our Lady Help of Christians. That church building was blessed by Auxiliary Bishop Peter J. Muldoon in late 1901. A rectory was constructed in 1902, with a school that opened in 1907.
The foundation of the current church building was laid in August 1926. Cardinal George Mundelein dedicated that building just over a year later in November 1927. In 1936, the school was expanded, with ground broken for a new school in summer 1960, which included classrooms, a gymnasium and a library.
The archdiocese currently owns the school building at 819 and 831-847 N. Leamington Ave. but is attempting to sell it through Chicago-based Baum Realty Group for an asking price of $1.25 million. According to information from the Baum Realty website, the school has “a two-story classroom configuration alongside full sized, high ceiling gymnasium,” along with a 4,500-square-foot gated parking lot and a 27,500-square-foot adjacent vacant parcel.
But again, few details about that sale were forthcoming from Baum Realty.
“I am not able to provide any public comment regarding the property at this time,” said Baum Realty’s Ari Topper.