Chicago's Nurse Parade

Chicago singularly honored nurses, our Angels of Mercy, for a decade (1949–1958). Father Clarence M. Brissette O.S.M., director of the Sorrowful Mother Novena, originated both Chicago's Nurses Day and Chicago's Nurse Parade in 1949. The purpose of the parade was twofold: to give the nurses a day of glory and to also encourage others to join this undermanned, noble, and caring profession. The first Chicago Nurse Parade (1949) had two floats, four bands, and included many nurses marching in c...