St. Michael's Church, Old Town, Chicago

The parish was founded to minister to German and Luxembourgish[1][2] Catholic immigrants in 1852 with its first wooden church completed that year at a cost of $750 (including the bell).

The Redemptorists were invited to administer the parish in 1860 and a large brick church was finished in 1869.

[4] The church was one of seven buildings to 'survive' the path of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, albeit heavily damaged.

[5] Portions of the building survived—the stone walls of St. Michael's being the only structures standing in the Old Town area.

In 1871, just after the Great Chicago Fire, members of the parish formed the first Luxembourgish-American organization in the United States, the Luxemburger Unterstuetzungs Verien (Luxembourg Mutual Aid Society).