A sweeping new light and sound production called Celestia is set to take over St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Lincoln Park starting November 20, turning the 19th-century sanctuary into a glowing canvas of projections and orchestral music. Tickets for the seated, multisensory experience start at $24 and go on sale Wednesday at 10 a.m.
The show, first reported by Axios reporter Carrie Shepherd, features ten immersive scenes spread across five acts, according to the production's official site, celestiaexperience.com. The piece is designed to accentuate the Romanesque Revival architecture with Gothic influences that defines St. Vincent de Paul, a church dedicated in 1897 and designed by architect James J. Egan. According to the site, the Chicago presentation sits at 1010 W. Webster Ave., at the corner of Webster and Sheffield Avenues.
Each performance runs 30 to 45 minutes, per the seed reporting, and start times are tied to the local sunset, allowing natural exterior light to interact with the interior projections as the show unfolds. Select evenings will include a live choir woven into the experience, the church's event page notes, with the Axios report specifying that the choir performs on Friday and Saturday nights.
A Touring Production With Deep Roots in Denver
Celestia isn't a Chicago original. The production had its world premiere at Denver's Saint John's Cathedral, where it debuted in September 2026, according to the Axios reporting. The Denver run has been covered extensively by OnStage Colorado, which describes the show as produced by Paquin Entertainment Group and Montreal-based Normal Studio.
In Denver, the production used projection mapping and an original orchestral score to turn the historic 1911 church into what the Gazette called a 360-degree, 3D living canvas. That version of the show ran 45 minutes and, per the Gazette, was neither a straightforward narrative nor a religious presentation. Twenty-four projectors delivered 480,000 lumens and 83 million pixels to create the moving 360-degree imagery, according to the Episcopal News Service, which also reported that ticket-sale proceeds benefited the cathedral's outreach ministries.
Expanding Across North America's Sacred Spaces
Celestia's producers describe the project as expanding to extraordinary sacred venues across North America, according to the show's official site. Kurt Baker said the churches selected for the tour were chosen for their architecture, history, wonder, and spiritual significance, per the Axios report. Before the Chicago engagement, Celestia opens at the Cathedral of St. James in Toronto on November 6; the broader tour is scheduled to run through January 31, 2027, according to the same reporting.
Denver performances ran Thursday through Sunday with multiple showtimes nightly, and start times there shifted seasonally with sunset, ranging from 7:30 p.m. to 9:45 p.m., per OnStage Colorado. Friday and Saturday evenings in Denver featured a live eight-person vocal ensemble. Denver ticket prices ranged from $23 to $64, the Gazette reported, though that pricing applied specifically to the Colorado installation.
What To Expect At St. Vincent de Paul
Back in Chicago, logistics are shaping up similarly to other stops on the tour. The church will offer wheelchair-accessible entry and seating, though it will not rent wheelchairs or mobility scooters onsite, according to the event page. Group tickets for parties of eight or more are available exclusively through the official website, and an onsite companion web app will be available.
For those who caught Celestia during its Denver run, online chatter offered a bit of practical advice. Reddit commenters who attended the Denver shows recommended sitting toward the back of the church for a more expansive view of the projections, a tip that could carry over for Chicago audiences settling into the pews at St. Vincent de Paul this November.
