NAMES OF ROMAN CATHOLIC INSTITUTIONS are of interest not only to the philologist but also to the historian and sociologist, for they reveal a great deal about the character and history of Catholicism in their areas. The names of the more than 280 parishes within the city limits of Chicago, 1 of the approximately 170 suburban parishes,2 and of the 70 non-parochial Catholic schools 3 enshrine much of the cultural past and present of the archdiocese. A study of these names, then, should bring to

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... ght many items of interest. I. REGULATIONS AND TRADITIONS GOVERNING PARISH NAMES Canon Law does not lay down detailed criteria for the names of churches. It requires simply that "every consecrated or blessed church shall have its own title," that "after the dedication of the 1 Unless otherwise indicated, all statistics given here are based on the following sources: The Official Oatholic Directory for the Year of Our Lord 1961 (New York, 1961), and the Loyola University 1962 Telephone Directory of Oatholic institutions (Chicago, 1962). Statistics are generally given in round numbers; since the number of Catholic churches and schools is continually increasing, more exact figures would be obsolete already. In order to ascertain certain historical trends, earlier Oatholic Directories have also been consulted.