St. Henry's actual building from the outside doesn't exactly look Catholic...in fact it barely looks like a church (probably one of the many reasons we are building a new church).
But the inside is nice...our priest loves icons, he even does them himself, so there is some nice art inside. I don't have any pics but Fr. Billy was in the Catholic Sun a while back. And they had a picture of one of his works in progress. I wish they had a pic his big one of the Divine Mercy though, that one was nice. http://www.catholicsun.org/2007/aug16/local/priests_icons.html
The sanctuary- where the altar is, I mean, behind the altar rail- is all marble, bluish-black and white. There is a big mediumishly-gory crucifix- and it looks real- and underneath a gold-colored tabernacle with a lace veil. On either side in little alcove-type places are statues of Joseph and Mary. The altar rail has a beautiful flowery pattern in the metal, and on the top is marble. The floor of the church, except the sanctuary, is cream-colored stone, and the pews are beat-up and wooden.
Funny. We are building a new church too. Our priest is convinced that we can get more parishioners by making a bigger church and moving to a better spot. We don't really need as much money as he wants. He just wants it to look as gothic-styled as possible, and that will require a lot of stone. I wonder if he's ever visited the Poor Clares. They have a gorgeous traditional church.
We have pretty pressing reasons for building a new church...mainly that the parishioners don't fit in the current one. We actually have Sunday Mass in an elementary school gym. Unfortunately we aren't what one would call a wealthy parish so it's going to take years to get built...if any of you guys remember it, prayers for St. Henry Parish in Arizona would be greatly appreciated.
I forgot to say before...I like the Pieta statue in that second pic. I haven't been to any of the 3 St. Mary's Parishes here. I have been to The Nativity of the B.V.M. in Flagstaff. That is a beautiful little church. And of course St. Thomas Aquinas (my old parish), which is HUGE!
St Marys....old! 120some years, we moved out of the old church that long ago, and the Catholic high school now sits there, though the building is gone. the parish is 150 years old. the school is 100 years in april. the church is gothic style, and was built with limestone locally quarried. cathedral ceilings, soooo beautiful...has gone thru many remodels, the one in the 50s is my fave, but i like the way it is now too...ornate reredos, beautiful! we got the altar redone last year and the whole platform too! it is such a pretty place.....also there is a gathering space, added in the 80s!!!! the church is very pretty!!!!! and i would never move in a million years!!!!we have 5 masses to accommodate!!!!
We (my family) are members of a somewhat orthodox parish. It is pretty modern. It has a marble altar, brick walls but has a huge crucifix above the tabernacle in the middle of the altar.
The church we go to on most weekends is on the Southside of Chicago. It is in the worst neighborhood ever! More people die there than in Iraq. The poor priests of the Institute of Christ the King were given this empty,condemned church by Cardinal George. They are trying to remodel, restore,reconstruct it but....It has a cement floor, no ceiling (but a roof) but the Latin Mass is BEUTIFUL. When it is really cold out, you can see your breath - yes, in the church!
The poor HOLY priests there! The vicar in the US is originally from Germany. He was ordained by Cardinal Ratzinger...need I say more? ! : )
Our church doesn't look like a church really from the outside. it was built by the poor polish community, so it is very simple. Inside it is made to look more like a church though, with a crucifix and a ornate altar. there are lots of candles all round the walls of the inside.
We too are going to build a new church! the plans and stuff have been done I think, and there has been quite a lot of money raised already. My dad doesn't think the design is very good though, and there are some people organizing it and everything who don't know anything about building!
St. Henry's actual building from the outside doesn't exactly look Catholic...in fact it barely looks like a church (probably one of the many reasons we are building a new church).
ReplyDeleteBut the inside is nice...our priest loves icons, he even does them himself, so there is some nice art inside. I don't have any pics but Fr. Billy was in the Catholic Sun a while back. And they had a picture of one of his works in progress. I wish they had a pic his big one of the Divine Mercy though, that one was nice. http://www.catholicsun.org/2007/aug16/local/priests_icons.html
The sanctuary- where the altar is, I mean, behind the altar rail- is all marble, bluish-black and white. There is a big mediumishly-gory crucifix- and it looks real- and underneath a gold-colored tabernacle with a lace veil. On either side in little alcove-type places are statues of Joseph and Mary. The altar rail has a beautiful flowery pattern in the metal, and on the top is marble. The floor of the church, except the sanctuary, is cream-colored stone, and the pews are beat-up and wooden.
ReplyDeleteFunny. We are building a new church too. Our priest is convinced that we can get more parishioners by making a bigger church and moving to a better spot. We don't really need as much money as he wants. He just wants it to look as gothic-styled as possible, and that will require a lot of stone. I wonder if he's ever visited the Poor Clares. They have a gorgeous traditional church.
We have pretty pressing reasons for building a new church...mainly that the parishioners don't fit in the current one. We actually have Sunday Mass in an elementary school gym. Unfortunately we aren't what one would call a wealthy parish so it's going to take years to get built...if any of you guys remember it, prayers for St. Henry Parish in Arizona would be greatly appreciated.
ReplyDeleteI forgot to say before...I like the Pieta statue in that second pic. I haven't been to any of the 3 St. Mary's Parishes here. I have been to The Nativity of the B.V.M. in Flagstaff. That is a beautiful little church. And of course St. Thomas Aquinas (my old parish), which is HUGE!
I remember reading about that priest.
ReplyDeleteSt Marys....old! 120some years, we moved out of the old church that long ago, and the Catholic high school now sits there, though the building is gone. the parish is 150 years old. the school is 100 years in april. the church is gothic style, and was built with limestone locally quarried. cathedral ceilings, soooo beautiful...has gone thru many remodels, the one in the 50s is my fave, but i like the way it is now too...ornate reredos, beautiful! we got the altar redone last year and the whole platform too! it is such a pretty place.....also there is a gathering space, added in the 80s!!!! the church is very pretty!!!!! and i would never move in a million years!!!!we have 5 masses to accommodate!!!!
ReplyDeleteWe (my family) are members of a somewhat orthodox parish. It is pretty modern. It has a marble altar, brick walls but has a huge crucifix above the tabernacle in the middle of the altar.
ReplyDeleteThe church we go to on most weekends is on the Southside of Chicago. It is in the worst neighborhood ever! More people die there than in Iraq. The poor priests of the Institute of Christ the King were given this empty,condemned church by Cardinal George. They are trying to remodel, restore,reconstruct it but....It has a cement floor, no ceiling (but a roof) but the Latin Mass is BEUTIFUL. When it is really cold out, you can see your breath - yes, in the church!
The poor HOLY priests there! The vicar in the US is originally from Germany. He was ordained by Cardinal Ratzinger...need I say more? ! : )
Our church doesn't look like a church really from the outside. it was built by the poor polish community, so it is very simple. Inside it is made to look more like a church though, with a crucifix and a ornate altar. there are lots of candles all round the walls of the inside.
ReplyDeleteWe too are going to build a new church! the plans and stuff have been done I think, and there has been quite a lot of money raised already. My dad doesn't think the design is very good though, and there are some people organizing it and everything who don't know anything about building!