Ukrainian Village in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Patriarch Josyf Cardinal Slipyj

Photographed by Sean Flynn, June 28, 2024

1. Patriarch Josyf Cardinal Slipyj Marker

Inscription. Click to hear the inscription.

Слута Божий
Патріярх Йосиф Кардинал Сліпий
ісповідник віри
1892-1984
Засновник Української Католицької Парафи Св. Володимира І Ольги В Чікаго
The servant of God
Patriarch
Josyf Cardinal
Slipyj
Confessor of the faith
1892 - 1984
Founder of Sts. Volodymyr and Olha Ukrainian Catholic Parish

Erected 2009.

Topics. This historical

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marker is listed in these topic lists: Immigration • Religion & Religious Structures. A significant historical year for this entry is 1892.

Location. 41° 53.703′ N, 87° 41.052′ W. Marker is in Chicago, Illinois, in Cook County. It is in Ukrainian Village. It can be reached from North Oakley Boulevard near West Superior Street, on the right when traveling north. The memorial is in the courtyard near the west entrance to Sts. Volodymyr and Olha Ukrainian Catholic Church, in front of a statue of Cardinal Slipyj. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 739 North Oakley Bouelvard, Chicago IL 60612, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American Midwest

and on the Great Lakes.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Ukraine War and Flight MH17 Memorial (here, next to this marker); Sts. Volodymyr and Olha Ukrainian Catholic Church Consecration (here, next to this marker); Patriarch Josyf Slipyj's 1973 Visit (here, next to this marker); Patriarch Josyf Slipyj's 1976 Visit (a few steps from this marker); Patriarch Sviatoslav Shevchuk’s 2018 Visit (a few steps from this marker); Ukrainian Village (about 700 feet away, measured in a direct line); a different marker also named Ukrainian Village

Patriarch Josyf Cardinal Slipyj statue and marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean Flynn, June 28, 2024

2. Patriarch Josyf Cardinal Slipyj statue and marker

Above the statue are the words "per aspera ad astra," which is Latin for "through adversity to the stars."

(approx. 0.2 miles away); a different marker also named Ukrainian Village (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Chicago.

More about this marker. The statue, by Ukranian sculptor Yevgeniy Prokopov, was erected in 2009 in honor of the 40th anniversary of Sts. Volodymyr and Olha Ukrainian Catholic Church.

Regarding Patriarch Josyf Cardinal Slipyj. Born in 1892 the son of farmers in Western Ukraine while that area was a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Josyf Slipyj (sometimes alternately spelled Yosef Slipy) was ordained in 1917 and elevated to Archbishop of Lviv in 1939, while that city was occupied by the Soviet Union. When the Soviet Army took back the city from the Germans in 1945, Slipyj, along with all of the Ukrainian Catholic Church hierarchy, was arrested and sentenced to eight years in a penal colony. Refusing to sever ties with the Holy See in Rome, Slipyj was sentenced two more times and ended up being imprisoned for 18 years. In February 1963, thanks to interventions by Pope John XXIII, U.S. President John F. Kennedy and others, he was released and expelled from the Soviet Union. Working from Rome, where he was elevated to cardinal in 1965, he helped keep

Close-up of the Josyf Slipyj statue image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean Flynn, June 28, 2024

3. Close-up of the Josyf Slipyj statue

the Ukrainian Catholic Church alive, visiting Ukrainian people scattered across the world. He established churches in a number of cities including Chicago, with its vibrant Ukrainian community, where he opened Sts. Volodymyr and Olha church in 1969. He died in 1984. In 1992, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, his relics and his body were returned to Lviv.

St. Olha (also known as Olga of Kiev) is the patron saint of widows and converts. She was the first member of Kievan Rus, a Slavic state in what is now Ukraine, to become a Christian. Volodymyr (also known as Vladimir the Great) was Olha's grandson who expanded Kievan Rus into one of Eastern Europe's most powerful states. A Ukrainian Orthodox church named after Volodymyr can be found in Chicago six blocks due north of this church.

Also see . . .
1. SV&O Ukrainian Catholic Church. A history of the church from the University of Chicago's Chicago Studies program.

Excerpt: "Located directly across the street from the Ukrainian National Museum, Saints Volodymyr & Olha Ukrainian Catholic Church was founded in 1969 by Josyf Slipyj and Yaroslav Gabro, the bishop of the Eparchy of Chicago. While Chicago has plenty of Catholic churches, STSVO was founded with the intention of providing Ukrainians in Chicago with a religious establishment where their
Photographed by Sean Flynn, June 28, 2024

4. Patriarch Josyf Cardinal Slipyj statue
A view from the front steps of the church.
practice could fully adhere to the traditions of the Ukrainian Church."

(Submitted on June 29, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

2. Sts. Volodymyr & Olha Ukrainian Catholic Church. (Submitted on June 29, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)
3. Patriarch Yosyf Slipy 1892–1984. Biography from the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (Submitted on June 29, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

Saints Volodymyr and Olha Ukrainian Catholic Church image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean Flynn, June 28, 2024

5. Saints Volodymyr and Olha Ukrainian Catholic Church

The Josyf Cardinal Slipyj statue can be seen on the right side of this photo of the church he founded on Chicago's west side.

Credits. This page was last revised on October 23, 2025. It was originally submitted on June 28, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 404 times since then and 91 times this year. Last updated on October 22, 2025, by Svitlana S Kharlamova of Hudson, Florida. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on June 28, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.