Loyola University Chicago - Loyolan Yearbook (Chicago, IL)

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O O 0 i Reverend Charles Truygens, SJ., and Reverend Arnold Damen, SJ., arrived in Chicago in 1857 to set up the first Jesuit parish in the city. Father Damen, who was to be the pastor, was severely criticized for selecting a site in the southwest section, far from where most of the homes were then located. Holy Family Church, hov.fex'er, was erected at the corner of Eleventh and May as Father Damen wished. The devout priest hurnedwith the desire to form a Jesuit college inwhat he knew was to be the leading city of the area. He received permission and was granted a charter in 1869. The building for St. Ignatius College was begun immediately. The doors were opened for the Hrst time on September 5, 1870, before the building was even inished. Thirty-seven men were enrolled in that first class. The college was an immediate success, however, and before the end of the first year the enrollment had swelled to ninety-nine. Sixty-one students were present at opening-day classes in 1871. On October 8 of that year, the College almost suffered a tragedy. The Great Fire broke out just a few blocks north and east of St. Ignatius. Father Damen, now president of the college, was not on the grounds at the time, but arrived in time to see a suddenshift in the wind turn the flames toward the lake and river and away from the school. To this day seven vigil lights are kept burning in Holy Family Church as a token of gratitude to Our Lady of Perpetual Help for this seeming miracle. The first class was not graduated from the college until 1881. Of the two graduates one, Thomas Finn, became a priestg the other, Carter Harrison, is renowned as one of Chicago's greatest mayors.

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hm gh As the number of students increased, old St. Ignatius College began to make plans for expansion. In the earliest years of the present century work was begun on the Lake Shore Campus, which now houses the College of Arts and Sciences. In 1908 the Lincoln School of Law was founded by a group of alumni, this school was soon accepted as an integral part of the College. In the following year, 1909, the Jesuit institution attained university status and became Loyola University. The University offered its first extension courses in 1913. At first these studies were limited to the social sciences, but, as the demand and enrollment grew, the department was divided to form the present University College and School of Social Work. Loyola purchased Bennett College in 1915 and incorporated it as the Loyola University School of Medicine. The demand of business for trained men in the fields of accounting, economics, and finance led to the formation of the School of Commerce in 1924. Several departments had long been offering graduate studies which were to lead towards graduate degrees. These advanced academic studies were incorporated into the Graduate School in 1926. The school offered its first opportunity for the doctoral degree in 1952. The Graduate School now offers masters' and doctors' degrees in most fields. Mr. Charles E. Ballard gave the famous resort hotel at West Baden Springs, Indiana, to the Society of jesus in 1934. The building was to be used as a house of studies. The college now is the Jesuit school of philosophy and theology for the Chicago province. It operates under an afiilation with Loyola University. ' Loyola has had atliliated with it several nursing schools in Chicago for many yearsg however, the curriculum in each school was vastly different. In 1955 a project was begun through the efforts of Sister Helen jarrell and the Reverend Terence I-I. Ahern, SJ., to unify these schools under a single course of studies. This undertaking has met with great success.