The Cudahys: Irish Catholic Immigrant Philanthropists

“Science and Religion”: First Loyola University Chicago Classroom Building on the Lake Shore Campus

Michael Cudahy Science Hall (1910) was the first Loyola University classroom building on the Lake Shore Campus. The donors, Michael and Catherine “Kate” (née Sullivan) Cudahy, became renowned for generous philanthropy to Catholic institutions. Irish Catholic immigrants who arrived in the United States in the 1840s, they developed strong Jesuit ties. In April 1866, their wedding at Milwaukee’s Jesuit parish, St. Gall Church, was officiated by Fr. Stanislas P. Lalumiere, S.J., founder of present-day Marquette University. In the late 1890s, their sons Edward Ignatius and Joseph Michael attended St. Ignatius College. In 1917, Pope Benedict XV honored Catherine with the title “Countess.”