The article reflects on the author's mother, who held a profound attachment to Chicago and her Catholic faith. Despite moving suburbs, her identity was shaped by her upbringing on the South Side of Chicago, and she expressed pride in both her city and religion. Her faith was not just personal but served as a social identifier, reinforced by a household adorned with Catholic symbols and her keen interest in fellow Catholics in the community. Her Chicago-loving spirit and faith were integral to her personal narrative.
My mom thought Chicago was the greatest city on Earth, and though she had traveled widely, her visits to other places only reinforced her preference for home.
Her Chicago Catholic childhood informed her suburban Catholic adulthood, insofar as her faith, though very real, was in part a tribal identifier.
She worshiped because she believed in God and the Catholic scriptures, but also because she believed that believing in God and the Catholic scriptures was integral to who she was.
Like framed pennants at a sports bar, the walls of our house were dotted with Catholic paraphernalia: crosses and icons and prayers written out in calligraphic script.
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