Old and beautiful Churches

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Two strikingly beautiful churches I’m familiar with are Immaculate Heart of Mary on Polish Hill in Pittsburgh and St. Bernard’s in Mt Lebanon (Also Pgh). Very much different from one another.
Immaculate Heart was built in the late 1890s (I think) by Polish immigrants. The exterior is supposedly based on St Peters in Rome. My great-grandfather played a role in founding it. I was baptized there.

St Bernard’s cornerstone was laid in 1923 and is established in the heart of an affluent suburb. It consists of the church, a rectory, convent, and school. The church is such an accurate rendering, inside and out, of French Gothic architecture that they say you could put it in the south of France and it would look like it had been built there during the French Gothic period.

I had been my family’s home parish from 1980 until my mother was buried from there a year ago tomorrow.

Many beautiful pics online
 
Do you remember the old Passionist Monastery there? Someone once told me it had been very beautiful.
 
IHM is beautiful.

I’m amazed that St. Bernard’s has so many Sunday Masses , and two daily Masses too!!!

My poor diocese has a lot of catching up to do. Not sure what the problem is here, but we have a long way to go.
 
on_the_hill said:
Immaculate Heart was built in the late 1890s (I think) by Polish immigrants.
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Actually it was the first decade of the 20th Century. And it was built by the parishioners volunteering their time after their usual job.

Although those kinds of construction skills weren’t as rare as they are today. Sears used to sell houses by mail- sending the customers the plans and the building materials- and many of those homes are still standing.
 
Augustinian said:
Actually it was the first decade of the 20th Century. And it was built by the parishioners volunteering their time after their usual job.

Although those kinds of construction skills weren’t as rare as they are today. Sears used to sell houses by mail- sending the customers the plans and the building materials- and many of those homes are still standing.
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O.k. First decade. That makes sense in my recollections. I remember my grandfather telling me it cost around $100,000 to build.
 
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so, around 2.5 mil today
 
It has to be more than that. My husband says that inflation calculator isn’t accurate because it doesn’t take everything into account.

Honestly, I don’t think you could even find the people who did that type of work anymore in this country. No one wants to get their hands dirty today. 😉
 
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In between and to the east of St. Joseph and Maryville, Missouri, lies Conception, MO. Just a stone’s throw north of there in Clyde lies the adoration chapel of the Clyde Monastery.

http://clydemonastery.org/tour/index.php

The pictures do it no justice. It is home to the Benectictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration.

Walking into the chapel takes your breath away. There is just so much to take in. My favorite part was greeting each of the Apostles, who were depicted on larger than life stain glass windows to the right and left of the sanctuary.

If not for the breathtaking chapel, one must visit their Relic chapel, where the sisters look after over 550 relics of saints.

(Under each of the headings on the left, in the link above, you can scroll through various pictures-by hitting next. Check out the mosaics!)
 
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Casilda, that’s absolutely stunning. I used to correspond with these nuns when I was in high school back in the stone age. They were trying to promote the cause of Fr. Lukas Etlin back then. They published the nicest prayer cards, leaflets and pamphlets back then too.

Thank God for another gem being spared the wrecking ball.
 
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Another notable church building here in Pittsburgh may have a date with the wrecking ball. The building is no longer being held by the diocese, but the developer wants to erect new housing on 44th Street. Preservationists are, needless to say, having a cow.

pittsburgh.cbslocal.com

Dispute Brewing Over Proposed Demolition Of Lawrenceville Church

A dispute is brewing over the proposed demolition of the Holy Family Church in Lawrenceville.
pittsburgh.cbslocal.com pittsburgh.cbslocal.com
 
Augustinian said:
Another notable church building here in Pittsburgh may have a date with the wrecking ball. The building is no longer being held by the diocese, but the developer wants to erect new housing on 44th Street. Preservationists are, needless to say, having a cow.
http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2018/06/09/holy-family-church-demolition-dispute/
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You have no idea how this breaks my heart because I think that sixty years ago this church was vibrant with many parishioners.

Augustinian, I’m almost afraid to ask what happened to the furnishings (statues, stations of the cross, altar, etc.) of the church.

Are there any pictures of what it looked like inside?
 
Speaking of Lawrenceville, I was at Our Lady of the Angels for an ordination a couple of weeks ago. I wanted to post pics from there, but Google did not have anything to do it justice. Beautiful church!
 
Lormar said:
Augustinian, I’m almost afraid to ask what happened to the furnishings (statues, stations of the cross, altar, etc.) of the church.
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The diocese warehouses those kinds of things, and reuses them when they open a new church.
 
Deacon3b, there isn’t one church in my diocese, not even the cathedral, that comes close to that. Look at those pews!! Everything in the church spoke of the majesty and awesomeness of our Lord and Savior.
 
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I love the beautiful old parishes built by Polish German and Czech immigrants in my home state of Texas. I highly suggest you look for more photos of the beautiful parishes and more in Southeast Texas.

St Mary’s, High Hill
St John the Baptist, Schulenburg
St Mary’s, Fredericksburg
Ss Cyril and Methodius, Schulenburg
St Mary’s, Dubina
St John the Baptist, Ammansville
Immaculate Conception, Panna Maria
St Stanislaus, Chappel Hill

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St Stanislaus, Chappel Hill
 
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