Greater Tabernacle Cathedral is a Chicago Landmark

Our 
Story

Dedicated in 1890, the Greater Tabernacle Cathedral Complex (the “Complex”) consists of the former church and rectory of Holy Rosary Parish, which was the parish’s second church, Roseland’s first English-speaking Catholic parish, and the main parish for the community of Pullman. The church building was designed by the renowned and prolific Chicago architect Solon S. Beman and completed between 1886-1890. For the former Holy Rosary Church, Beman designed an imposing and striking place of worship that imparted a sense of monumentality on the native prairie that remained undeveloped and only dotted with farmsteads and frame cottages at the time of construction.

Despite a shift in demographics and religious affiliation in the Roseland community during the last fifty years, the former Holy Rosary Church has remained a constant, serving as a center of religion, community, and culture for 133 years. The Holy Rosary Church occupied the building until its final closing mass on Saturday, June 28, 2008, ending the 126-year history of this parish.

Following the closing of the Holy Rosary Parish, the church was leased by the Catholic Bishop of Chicago to New Day Ministries International from 2011 to 2016 until the building was purchased by Greater Tabernacle Cathedral (formerly Tabernacle of God Church of God in

Christ) in September 2016.

The Complex continues to operate as a place of worship and community center under Greater Tabernacle Cathedral, which has continued the stewardship begun in 1882 by the founding parishioners of Holy Rosary Church and continues their preservation of the complex. In 1996, the Chicago Historic Resources Survey rated the Complex orange for its architectural and historical significance within the context of Roseland.