Welcome

The Franciscan ministry, Chiesa Nuova, bears the name of a Franciscan church in Assisi, Italy where the founder and artistic director, Fr. Robert M. Hutmacher, O.F.M., has lived and done research over the past twenty years.  Our name is Italian for “new church”.  Since September 2, 1997 Chiesa Nuova has been a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization in the State of Illinois.  The ministry is guided by a Board of Directors, the spirit of the Franciscan Order and its founder, Francis of Assisi.

We have been presenting public events with performing artists since 1995.   A mounting of the musical Songs of Mother Earth by Robert Hutmacher & Philip Granchi was our first-ever public event, and that was followed by a benefit concert by world renowned bass-baritone, Alan Held, in the Chicago Cultural Center in 1996.  We moved into our present location at 230 South Laflin in January, 1999.  The building is an 1881 carriage house and part of the Jackson Historic District.  This site is accessible for everyone by car or public transportation, which has been a true asset.  Artists who have performed at the Laflin site have been vocalists, string ensembles, actors such as William J. Norris and Dennis Newport, Grammy winning CSO clarinetist John Bruce Yeh and his wife Teresa, vocal groups such as Ngoma Group – a great variety of all performance arts except dance, due to space limitations.  Along with many events here in the Laflin site, we also have presented various artists in other venues around Chicago, such as churches, retirement homes and schools.We've also sponsored artistic events around the Midwest, in Assisi, Italy and Germany.