Since the Catholic churches of Chicago are glorious and generally under appreciated, and in a shameless effort to sell my book, Heavenly City (available on the link on this page), I thought it would be nice to start a new running entry giving a Chicago church to admire every day (or when I am inspired to do it). Leading off the effort today is the Quigley Seminary Chapel of St. James from the former archdiocesan high school seminary. Designed by Gustave Steinbeck of New York with a bit of help from Chicago architect Zachary Taylor Davis (who also designed the Cubs’ Wrigley Field), this little gem opened in 1920. It was modeled on the Sainte-Chappelle in Paris, the royal chapel built by King St. Louis IX to house the relics of the crown of thorns. The building is best known for its acres of recently-restored stained glass, composed of 650,000 individual pieces forming 245 scenes. The seminary closed last year, but the diocese will be renovating the building for use as its new chancery. Photos are by the noted architectural photographer James Morris.