About 3 a.m., fire crews were called to the Hyde Park AME Church in the 12000 block of South Eggleston Avenue in the West Pullman neighborhood.
When crews arrived, they saw heavy fire coming through the back of the church, said Chicago Fire Department District Chief Larry Howard.
Firefighters called for a still-and-box alarm and fought the blaze from the outside of the building. Within minutes after they arrived, the building's roof collapsed, Howard said.
Early Monday morning, firefighters could not say whether anyone was inside the building at the time of the fire.
"We weren't able to conduct any searches due to the heavy volume of fire," Howard said.
The church had housed the same congregation since 1974, said the church's pastor, Rev. Marcus Tabb.
"I can't imagine what would have caused it," Tabb told WGN while standing at the scene early Monday. "I don't know what happened."
Tabb said the congregation has about 32 members. He said the building had some minor problems like a leaky roof, but nothing that could explain a fire.
Jackie Hayes, a trustee for the church who also lives across the street, stood with Tabb as they surveyed the damage.
"It was a sanctuary for me," Hayes said of the church. "Like they say, everybody's gotta have some space somewhere. This was my place. I'm probably gonna miss it more than the rest of them."
Hayes said he believed no one would have been inside the church when the fire began.
The church sits next to train tracks for a branch of Metra's Electric District line, and fire crews briefly halted trains while fighting the fire, but normal service had resumed before 5 a.m. Monday.
Zachary Shaw who lives a short distance from the church had walked to the scene of the fire Monday morning after seeing firetrucks and ambulances speed past his home. Shaw said he was happy to hear no one had been discovered yet inside the building but said he did not like to see his neighborhood lose the church.
"Now, [it's] just another vacant lot in the community," he said.
The church blaze was one of three fires in the area overnight, including one fire that left a man in serious condition.
"It's a busy night, busier than I'd like to have it," Howard said. "But this is what we do."
WGN-tv contributed to this report
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