In the 1890s a group of parishioners who resented the dominance of the Resurrectionists culminating in the so-called “Pepper Riots”, where a crowd of 3,000 protesters broke into the foyer and assaulted the resident priests inside.

According to an article published by the Chicago Tribune, the three culprits that were caught eventually pleaded guilty and later were sentenced to prison terms.

A basement fire broke out on April 9, 2008, burning a 15 foot by 3 feet hole underneath the altar, leaving no injuries, but destroying the original statue of Our Lady of Manaoag brought to Chicago 17 years earlier.

The church building was completed at a cost of $160,000 in 1901 and designed by Adolphus Druiding who also drew up architectural plans for St. John Cantius.

The interior of St. Hedwig's features a series of paintings by Thaddeus von Zukotynski as well as the work of John A. Mallin done for the Parish Jubilee in 1938.