The 150th Anniversary Celebration
We are called
Though a worldwide public health crisis has curtailed some of our plans to come together to celebrate, we are happy to offer virtual gatherings to unite our campus and global community. Join us in celebrating significant milestones of our past, and our Jesuit, Catholic mission and values that have created a lasting impact on Chicago and the broader global communities we serve.
Celebrate the 150th Anniversary of Loyola University Chicago
“The University is closely aligned with the mission and values of the Opus Prize Foundation with a focus on service of faith, promotion of justice, and our historical legacy of community collaboration.”— Dr. Jo Ann Rooney, JD, LLM, EdD, president, Loyola University Chicago
Upcoming Events
Throughout 2021
Loyola 150 Scholar Series
Each day at Loyola, we are called to create spaces where new generations of students come together with other great minds to reflect and address urgent issues of our time. This spirit of common purpose and civil discourse infuses this series. Join in reflection and dialogue with some of Loyola’s most esteemed faculty.
Learn more
March 15-18
Addressing climate change
In its fifth year, Loyola’s Climate Change Conference March 15-18 mobilizes people to protect the planet. Each evening, join virtual sessions with environmental experts, climate advocates, and future sustainability leaders.
Learn more about the Climate Change Conference
Loyola University Chicago’s roots are rich and deep
In the timeline below (the first in a series), we showcase our improbable origin on Chicago’s West Side, 150 years ago.
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With a small group of friends, St. Ignatius Loyola founded the Society of Jesus, in 1540. Ignatius conceived the Jesuits as “contemplatives in action.” His collected insights and prayers formed the Spiritual Exercises, one of the most influential books on the spiritual life ever written.
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The history of Loyola University Chicago can’t be separated from the history of its home city. Prominent residents agreed that the Jesuits ought to make a permanent foundation in Chicago. The decision, in 1856, to build a Jesuit church and college was an investment that paid dividends.
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The first bird’s-eye view of Chicago looking west from Lake Michigan depicted the city that Loyola’s founder, Father Arnold Damen, S.J., encountered in 1856. James T. Palmatary rendered the city’s distinctive street grid in painstaking detail.
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In 1839, Damen wrote apologetically to his family in Holland, apologizing that he had “almost completely forgotten my mother tongue” after a few years in the United States. Although English was not his first language, Damen became one of America’s most powerful Catholic preachers.
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Damen never wavered from his original plan to establish a church in Chicago. His bold plans culminated in the 1860 dedication of a Gothic church on 12th Street. More than 6,000 people attended the solemn ceremony.
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In 1865, Damen took the first step towards building a Jesuit college in Chicago by signing a warranty deed for property on 12th Street. Nearly three years would elapse before construction could begin on St. Ignatius College.
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In 1870, the Illinois legislature granted a charter for St. Ignatius College. The project would cost more than $200,000. Once built, the Chicago Tribune praised its "small, but neat cupola, from which the entire city, and a large area of the surrounding prairie and lake, can be seen."
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The Great Chicago Fire burned from October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, left more than 100,000 residents homeless, and destroyed roughly 17,500 buildings. The cost of the wide-spread destruction (indicated on the map) exceeded $220 million (or $4.6 billion, adjusted for inflation.)
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The Holy Family Catholic Church is the second oldest Roman Catholic church in Chicago, and is the city's original Jesuit parish. The Church and St. Ignatius College were among the few structures within the fire zone that survived the Great Chicago Fire.
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"Had Father Damen placed (the college) in an aristocratic district many young men would have been unable to enter its classrooms."
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The World’s Columbian Exposition, held in Chicago in 1893, celebrated the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s trip to the New World. Covering 690 acres, the fair had a profound effect on architecture, sanitation, the arts, and American industrial optimism.
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Although Mundelein College (under construction) did not affiliate with Loyola until 1991, the BVM–Jesuit partnership began 124 years earlier on Chicago’s West Side, when Father Damen invited the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary from Dubuque, Iowa, to establish a foundation in Holy Family parish.
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Carter Henry Harrison Jr. was the 37th and 40th mayor of Chicago, the first native Chicagoan to serve in the position. In 1876, Harrison entered St. Ignatius College, then located near the family’s home on Ashland Avenue. Harrison graduated from St. Ignatius in 1881.
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Future White Sox owner Charles Comiskey (1859–1931), one of the first students at St. Ignatius College, signed with the St. Louis Browns in 1882 and is credited with changing the way first basemen played.
See how Loyola is making an impact today
Powering Chicago
The majority of our alumni choose to stay in Chicago—and become key leaders who shape the city.
See their impact
Four unforgettable years
No matter what major they choose, undergraduates at Loyola are in for the experience of a lifetime.
Meet three unique students
Who we are
The numbers tell the story of Loyola’s size, scope, and reach both locally and globally.
Get the factsSesquicentennial Scholars
Then and Now: 150 Years at Loyola University Chicago
Then and Now: 150 Years at Loyola University Chicago
Since early 2018, the Sesquicentennial Scholars have been preparing for Loyola's 150th anniversary in 2020. The scholars have created a digital exhibit built on four themes — Loyola Through the Years, Faith and Social Justice, Student Life, and Campuses. Learn how Loyola has changed over time through the lens of these broad themes.