Inspirational Church Buildings

[philangcatholic]

In my spiritual life the space in which I worship is one of the chief things that enhances my worship experience. I must be in a building that shows God’s power through its architecture. When I was an Anglican the National Cathedral was one of my favorite places to go, and still is. Gothic architecture is something that awes and amazes me; especially places like St. Patrick’s Cathedral or the Cologne Cathedral. In becoming Catholic I’ve tried to find beautiful Catholic buildings. One of my favorite Catholic buildings is the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Not only is it a wonderful example of Byzantine architecture but it is a great testament to Our Lady’s greatness. Also, of course, St. Peter’s Basilica, as the visible head of Catholicism strikes a powerful image in the eyes of any Catholic. In your opinion what are some of the most wonderfully built churches you’ve ever encountered?

 

[JKirkLVNV]

I stood on the spot where Saint Thomas a Becket was martyred in Canterbury Cathedral (used to be ours). That’s an amazing place. Truthfully, though, the most beautiful and, to me, meaningful churches have been the California Missions. Everyone should make an effort to see them.

 

[Threepwood]

The most beautiful I’ve seen so far is the Cathedral of the Madeleine in, of all places, Salt Lake City, UT. I had the opportunity to attend mass there a couple of weeks ago while traveling on business.

You can see pictures on their website here: saltlakecathedral.org/

 

[asteroid]

I know people love the art and everything else in the Brompton Oratory in London.

But for me the winner for inspiring me has to be Westminster Cathedral - which some people see as an ugly building. But then those people probably don’t like St. Pancras railway station either.

Here’s some pictures for the inside of the building:

westminstercathedral.org.uk/art/art_tour.html

And here is the groovy outside:

request.org.uk/main/churches/tours/westcath/outside.htm

You can’t beat an exterior like that. Of course, some people hate it.

The first time I saw the building I didn’t have time to go in (and probably wouldn’t have done anything so rash as to enter a catholic church in those days). I was meeting a friend at Westminster Abbey (the Anglicans) and after looking on the map had decided to walk from Victoria train station to the Abbey as it really isn’t that far.

Half way there, wandering down Victoria Street with the hundreds of people and the hundreds of half-congested cars, the right hand side opens up into a large square and set at the back of the square is this building.

It was a major surprise to see it there, this large structure so at odds with the modern blocks of Victoria Street. Wow. Of course, I didn’t even know what the building was back then but the architecture drove me wild.

Far more exciting than Westminster Abbey.

This summer, having been received into the Catholic Church at Easter I was able to spend a day alone in London. I went to the lunchtime mass at the Oratory and then the early evening mass at the Cathedral. During the afternoon I’d spent a couple of hours in the Cathedral exploring it and praying. Wonderful. And another hour that day in the large catholic bookshops very nearby. Bliss.

The peace and atmosphere of the cathedral is utterly at odds with the rushing and noise outside. And the fact that, unlike many UK cathedrals, it is still primarily a place of prayer and worship is fantastic.

Hopefully I can get back there next summer.

 

[AquinasXVI]

Asteroid:

Hello! I would like to ask you a question about England and Catholicism. What does the general English pop. think/feel about the Catholic churches and monasteries that were taken during Henry VIII’s time? I went to St. Paul’s Cathedral and was taken aback. The front seemed finished with the great mosaic but as I looked around, empty niches and windows without the classic stained design. It looked half done. I didn’t know it at the time but instinctively knew it was a Catholic Church at the beginning of construction.

Inspirational Churches: St. Patrick’s in NY, St. Mary of the Angels in Chicago. Many many others all around the country.

in XT.

 

[JKirkLVNV]

asteroid:

I know people love the art and everything else in the Brompton Oratory in London.

But for me the winner for inspiring me has to be Westminster Cathedral - which some people see as an ugly building. But then those people probably don’t like St. Pancras railway station either.

Here’s some pictures for the inside of the building:

westminstercathedral.org.uk/art/art_tour.html

And here is the groovy outside:

request.org.uk/main/churches/tours/westcath/outside.htm

You can’t beat an exterior like that. Of course, some people hate it.

The first time I saw the building I didn’t have time to go in (and probably wouldn’t have done anything so rash as to enter a catholic church in those days). I was meeting a friend at Westminster Abbey (the Anglicans) and after looking on the map had decided to walk from Victoria train station to the Abbey as it really isn’t that far.

Half way there, wandering down Victoria Street with the hundreds of people and the hundreds of half-congested cars, the right hand side opens up into a large square and set at the back of the square is this building.

It was a major surprise to see it there, this large structure so at odds with the modern blocks of Victoria Street. Wow. Of course, I didn’t even know what the building was back then but the architecture drove me wild.

Far more exciting than Westminster Abbey.

This summer, having been received into the Catholic Church at Easter I was able to spend a day alone in London. I went to the lunchtime mass at the Oratory and then the early evening mass at the Cathedral. During the afternoon I’d spent a couple of hours in the Cathedral exploring it and praying. Wonderful. And another hour that day in the large catholic bookshops very nearby. Bliss.

The peace and atmosphere of the cathedral is utterly at odds with the rushing and noise outside. And the fact that, unlike many UK cathedrals, it is still primarily a place of prayer and worship is fantastic.

Hopefully I can get back there next summer.

I got to attend Mass there on a weekday. It is an amazing church.

 

[JKirkLVNV]

AquinasXVI:

Asteroid:

Hello! I would like to ask you a question about England and Catholicism. What does the general English pop. think/feel about the Catholic churches and monasteries that were taken during Henry VIII’s time? I went to St. Paul’s Cathedral and was taken aback. The front seemed finished with the great mosaic but as I looked around, empty niches and windows without the classic stained design. It looked half done. I didn’t know it at the time but instinctively knew it was a Catholic Church at the beginning of construction.

Inspirational Churches: St. Patrick’s in NY, St. Mary of the Angels in Chicago. Many many others all around the country.

in XT.

Saint Paul’s as it is currently constituted has always been Anglican. It was built in the 1670’s by Christopher Wren. It’s the 4th building to occupy the site, so that means that before Henry VIII, the cathedral had been Catholic, but the old building burned in the Great Fire of London. So this one’s always been Anglican.

 

[AquinasXVI]

JKirk:

Thanks for the history. With that in mind, it becomes even more baffling to me. It really looks like a Catholic Church that was never finished. Do you know why they built it that way and if they did, what about the obviously catholic appointments that they installed and never meant to finish?

I do still want to know the answer to the question I asked Asteroid. Anyone?

in XT.

 

[Gearoidin]

philangcatholic:

In my spiritual life the space in which I worship is one of the chief things that enhances my worship experience. I must be in a building that shows God’s power through its architecture. When I was an Anglican the National Cathedral was one of my favorite places to go, and still is. Gothic architecture is something that awes and amazes me; especially places like St. Patrick’s Cathedral or the Cologne Cathedral. In becoming Catholic I’ve tried to find beautiful Catholic buildings. One of my favorite Catholic buildings is the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Not only is it a wonderful example of Byzantine architecture but it is a great testament to Our Lady’s greatness. Also, of course, St. Peter’s Basilica, as the visible head of Catholicism strikes a powerful image in the eyes of any Catholic. In your opinion what are some of the most wonderfully built churches you’ve ever encountered?

I think this is one of the most inspirational places I’ve ever visited. There are no grand buildings or impressive architecture but these little beehive huts, built by monks in the 5th or 6th century, have survived all the Atlantic winter storms since without mortar! If you ever go to Ireland, I strongly recommend taking a boat trip to the Skelligs, especially Skellig Michael, off the coast of Co. Kerry.
dirl.com/kerry/skelligs.htm

Gearoidin

 

[Gearoidin]

Gearoidin:

I think this is one of the most inspirational places I’ve ever visited. There are no grand buildings or impressive architecture but these little beehive huts, built by monks in the 5th or 6th century, have survived all the Atlantic winter storms since without mortar! If you ever go to Ireland, I strongly recommend taking a boat trip to the Skelligs, especially Skellig Michael, off the coast of Co. Kerry.
dirl.com/kerry/skelligs.htm

Gearoidin

I forgot to post this in my previous message:
George Bernard Shaw winner of the Noble prize for Literature in 1925 was so taken by his visit to the Skelligs on 17th September 1910 that he wrote: "But for the magic that takes you out far out of this time and this world,
there is Skellig Michel ten miles off the Kerry coast, shooting straight up seven hundred feet sheer out of the Atlantic.
Whoever has not stood in the grave-yard on the summit of that cliff among the beehive dwellings and beehive oratory does not know Ireland through and through ". He says it much better than I can.

Some better pictures here:
skelligsrock.com/history.htm
Gearoidin

Gearoidin

 

[Fidelis]

JKirkLVNV:

Truthfully, though, the most beautiful and, to me, meaningful churches have been the California Missions. Everyone should make an effort to see them.

I’ve visited 19 of the 21 and, as a native Californian (4th generation) they are also meaningful to me. Some, like Carmel, are beautiful and inspiring, but many of them are humble adobe structures, but it is clear they are products of heroic and simple faith.

californiamissions.com/cahistory/index.html

 

[FCEGM]

The Carmel of the Infant Jesus in Santa Clara, CA, is particularly beautiful, as is the Cristo Rey Carmel in San Francisco (I prefer the Santa Clara one) though certainly of a much smaller scale than the glorious cathedrals mentioned:

members.aol.com/santaclaracarmel/index.htm

jnelson.com/Church%20Installs/carmelite_monastery.htm

 

[asteroid]

AquinasXVI:

Asteroid:

Hello! I would like to ask you a question about England and Catholicism. What does the general English pop. think/feel about the Catholic churches and monasteries that were taken during Henry VIII’s time?

The population feels that those surviving church buildings of the period are Anglican. The general population wouldn’t think anything about Catholic history. We have a population in which, a survey showed, 50% of the people don’t have a clue what Easter is about. Given that, I don’t think the general population have ever given a thought to ancient catholic churches becoming Anglican, the monasteries being disolved or anything like that.

The Catholics and Anglicans of the land see the buildings as Anglican.

Our own Catholic church, until 10 years ago, was Anglican. It was built in the mid 1800s. The congregation had dropped a lot so the Anglican church closed it. The saddest thing was that even with three other Anglican churches within a mile of this one, many of the remaining congregation stopped going to church at all because THEIR church had gone.

Anyway, the Catholic church here, which was also built in the mid 1800s, was in a sorry state, and in any case was too small for the congregation. So the Catholic church people here bought the Anglican church building and had to completely restore it from top to bottom.

Our building here is now Catholic. The Cathedral here is now Anglican (and they’ve done the upkeep, repairs and modernisations for the past nearly 500 years).

Of course, it would be nice to do a swap. The Anglicans can have our building, we can have the Cathedral - after all we have a larger congregation than they do and we need the space!

 

[AquinasXVI]

Asteroid:

Thank you! It goes back to education doesn’t it?

God bless you and the CC in England. If you want inspiration, look into the history of the underground Ukranian Catholic Church. The communists tried to erradicate them but they never broke.

in XT.

 

[Thepeug]

I love gothic architecture and I’m always moved by the vaulted ceilings, towering columns, beautiful stained glass windows, mosaics and marble that characterize older Catholic buildings. Unfortunately, here in North Carolina, most of the Catholic churches that I’ve attended look like ordinary brick buildings from the outside, and tend to be sparsely furnished on the inside, at least relative to older churches. Why the seeming de-emphasis on “architecture as icon”? Is the Church in the American South frequently forced to adopt existing buildings because of financial considerations?

God bless,

Chris

 

[FCEGM]

Thepeug:

I love gothic architecture and I’m always moved by the vaulted ceilings, towering columns, beautiful stained glass windows, mosaics and marble that characterize older Catholic buildings. Unfortunately, here in North Carolina, most of the Catholic churches that I’ve attended look like ordinary brick buildings from the outside, and tend to be sparsely furnished on the inside, at least relative to older churches. Why the seeming de-emphasis on “architecture as icon”? Is the Church in the American South frequently forced to adopt existing buildings because of financial considerations?

God bless,

Chris

My parish in Charlotte is quite new, Chris, but it was built in the style you mention - certainly nothing iconic about it. Some churches, notably St. Gabriel’s in Charlotte and St. Joseph’s in Kannapolis, have adorned the inside of the churches quite beautifully, though. The most recent issue of the paper of the Charlotte Diocese featured the artwork for St. Joseph’s new Adoration Chapel which was decorated with Byzantine-style murals painted by a local artist. St. Gabriel’s likewise has a gem of an Adoration Chapel, along with a new daily Mass chapel that features a beautiful stained-glass window over the altar.

Even my parish, St. Matthew’s, has a very nice daily Mass chapel with some fine statuary, including a lovely depication of the Holy Family.

Have you seen the glorious windows of Belmont Abbey?

I do think it’s monetary considerations that leave us with exteriorly uninspiring churches. But I also think that in some cases there is a studied lack of awareness that buildings do inform us in our Faith.

 

[Thepeug]

Frances,

 Thanks for the information.  I'll have to check out Belmont Abbey and St. Joseph's whenever I get a chance.  I've been to a funeral at St. Gabriel's, and it's definitely beautiful on the inside. St. Thomas More in Chapel Hill and the Newman Center at Chapel Hill are similar; unassuming brick buildings on the outisde, fairly ornamented interiorly.  Incidentally, have you been to the Duke Chapel at Duke University?  It belongs to the Methodists (Catholic masses are celebrated in the crypt), but I'm overcome by a sense of reverence and spiritual awareness every time I enter the cool stillness of the chapel and confront the awesome beauty within (and without).

God bless,

Chris

 

[aj830]

I recently went to San Antonio and I found the Mission San Jose
to be a wonderful Church Building.

photos1.blogger.com/img/174/1821/640/DSCN1618.jpg

It had wonderful statues outside the front door of it of St, Anne and I think St. Joachim. I loved it even though it is the only real grandeur Church I’ve ever seen.

 

[Agricola]

Philangcatholic,

Thought you may enjoy the thoughts of G. K. Chesterton on Gothic architecture, and the soul of ecclesiastic arts. I think that in his whimsical, matter-of-fact way, he speaks directly to the heart of the matter.

Here’s the link: dur.ac.uk/martin.ward/gkc/books/gargoyles.html

God bless,

Agricola

 

[Alison]

The most beautiful church building I have been to was the Basilica of Saint Francis (Assisi, Italy) which houses the body of St. Francis. There is an incredible sense of silence that I had never experienced in my entire life…so much so that I know it wasn’t a human construct but something Divine. Everyone can experience it. I broke down into tears and fervent prayer to God…it was an incredible place…So is my Parish church which although beautiful in structure is so immensely beautiful as it houses our Blessed Sacrament…as does any other Catholic Church. Blessed be the Lord!