The beautiful church thread: please post photos / links to beautiful Catholic churches!

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Wow, there sure are some gorgeous churches out there. How could you walk into one and not believe you are in the home of God?
 
Pax_Vobiscum_57 said:
Wow, there sure are some gorgeous churches out there. How could you walk into one and not believe you are in the home of God?
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Whether or not someone who never heard of Jesus Christ believed he was in the house of God, he would certainly be compelled to ask what could have inspired such an effusion of beauty and majesty.
 
Cobbfmly said:
Wieskirche: Pilgrimage Church of the Scourged Savior in Steingaden, Bavaria, Germany. I visited this church when I was on an exchange in high school.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1d/Wieskirche_ph.jpg/800px-Wieskirche_ph.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6e/Wieskirche_003.JPG/800px-Wieskirche_003.JPG

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6a/Wies_eingang.jpg/450px-Wies_eingang.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3063/2918452380_3792b671fe.jpg?v=0

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1a/Wieskirche_006.JPG/800px-Wieskirche_006.JPG
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I love this church!!! I don’t know what it is about it. There are so many beautiful ones, and I have seen interiors similar to this one, but this has an intangible quality to it. AND I absolutely LOVE the exterior!!! So white and pure-looking.
 
mercygate said:
Whether or not someone who never heard of Jesus Christ believed he was in the house of God, he would certainly be compelled to ask what could have inspired such an effusion of beauty and majesty.
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I totally agree. I have friends who were not raised Christian, but they are always awestruck by the shear beauty of these churches. Some have even said that they could feel such a “spiritual presence” whenever they enter these churches - even though many of them don’t believe in any particular faith or are just of a totally different faith. That says a lot.
 
Sarabande said:
I love this church!!! I don’t know what it is about it. There are so many beautiful ones, and I have seen interiors similar to this one, but this has an intangible quality to it. AND I absolutely LOVE the exterior!!! So white and pure-looking.
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Very Rococo! It looks like a big wedding cake!
 
These churches are from my mother’s province in Iloilo, Philippines. I would love to visit there one day when I finally have the money just for the airfare.

Miagao Church - Santo Tomas de Villanueva
waypoints.ph/detail_gen.html?wpt=miagao

Cabutan Church - Iglesia de San Nicolas de Tolentino
freewebs.com/cabatuanchurch/cabatuanchurch.htm
freewebs.com/cabatuanchurch/pseudobaroqueinterior.htm

Church of St Anne - Molo (This site has called it the “feminist” church, but that is a misleading term. It’s often referred to as the “woman’s church” because there are 16 images of female saints within the church. It has nothing to do with what the word “feminist” means today.)

exploreiloilo.com/molo-church.html

Jaro Cathedral - Our Lady of Candles
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Jaro_Cathedral.jpg

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:CampanarioJaro.jpg

flickr.com/photos/mic_cal/2238382647/

flickr.com/photos/mic_cal/2236811296/in/set-72157602355433115/

Pre-War:
flickr.com/photos/mic_cal/3219620007/in/set-72157602355433115/
Post-war and post earthquakes:
flickr.com/photos/mic_cal/3225065248/in/set-72157602355433115/

San Jose Church

heritageconservation.wordpress.com/2006/07/27/san-jose-church-iloilo-city/

exploreiloilo.com/san-jose-church.html

iloveiloilo.files.wordpress.com/2007/08/san_jose_church1.jpg

static.panoramio.com/photos/original/233620.jpg
 
PatienceAndLove said:
I have been to that Church. I hate to say that the pictures don’t do it justice!
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I believe it. I would venture to say that for most of the photos, they are more beautiful and impressive in person than they are in a photo.

(I admit I love Rocco artwork, despite it’s sweetness. 😛 )
 
Sarabande said:
I love this church!!! I don’t know what it is about it. There are so many beautiful ones, and I have seen interiors similar to this one, but this has an intangible quality to it. AND I absolutely LOVE the exterior!!! So white and pure-looking.
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Actually, the exterior of Die Wies is yellow. That beautiful Bavarian yellow.
 
Sarabande said:
I believe it. I would venture to say that for most of the photos, they are more beautiful and impressive in person than they are in a photo.

(I admit I love Rocco artwork, despite it’s sweetness. 😛 )
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If you like Rococo, you would love Ettal in Garmisch-Partenkirchen:

http://www.kloster-ettal.de/kloster/hintergrundbilder/epic0302.jpg

http://www.kloster-ettal.de/kloster/hintergrundbilder/epic0308.jpg

http://www.kloster-ettal.de/kloster/hintergrundbilder/epic0311.jpg
These photos do not show the “icicle” details and the rich yet restrained use of lavish ornament. German Baroque is characterized by the use of light and of open space in design in contrast with the darker Italian style that stuffs ornament into every square inch.
 
mercygate said:
Actually, the exterior of Die Wies is yellow. That beautiful Bavarian yellow.
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haha! Still love it!!! And it still looks so pure. Those colors just work with the area. Sort of like many of the exterior building colors in Salzburg. It would never look look in some cities here in the U.S., but there, you feel like you are in a fairytale city, especially up against the mountains. It’s absolutely breathtaking.
 
mercygate said:
If you like Rococo, you would love Ettal in Garmisch-Partenkirchen:

http://www.kloster-ettal.de/kloster/hintergrundbilder/epic0302.jpg

http://www.kloster-ettal.de/kloster/hintergrundbilder/epic0308.jpg

http://www.kloster-ettal.de/kloster/hintergrundbilder/epic0311.jpg
These photos do not show the “icicle” details and the rich yet restrained use of lavish ornament. German Baroque is characterized by the use of light and of open space in design in contrast with the darker Italian style that stuffs ornament into every square inch.
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Beautiful. (I see that I accidentally spelled Rococo wrong. I even had to correct my spelling just now. I keep wanting to spell Rocco. haha!) Although I really love looking at the Italian Baroque style churches, I think I prefer the German Baroque - at least the ones I’ve seen in person. I’m more into the brighter churches with that period of architecture.
 
benedictgal said:
This is actually a surprise from San Francisco, the Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi:

I had given up hope for California until I saw this church. 🙂
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That should be no surprise at all. Most of the churches in the cities in California are historical and ornate, especially in San Francisco. The modern-styled churches are in the suburbs.

Here are more pictures from San Francisco:

http://wwwdelivery.superstock.com/WI/223/1486/PreviewComp/SuperStock_1486-5074.jpg

http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/4926499.jpg

http://i.pbase.com/o6/45/696445/1/79351091.vDvMM9Mt.IMG_3763acopy.jpg

http://www.stspeterpaul.san-francisco.ca.us/church/interior_choirloft.jpg

http://www.stspeterpaul.san-francisco.ca.us/church/interior_eastaltar2.jpg

http://www.theingersolls.com/Will/images/20050915205149_stignatius.jpg

 
Here is St. Matthew’s Cathedral in DC.



This is truly a magnificent church. Here is another view:



Of couse, this was also the site of one of the saddest chapters in American history, the funeral of President John F. Kennedy:

http://pro.corbis.com/images/U1402949.jpg?size=67&uid={869BD975-9EDC-4BD9-AE73-CA520CCBFB27}

In this picture, Jacqueline Kennedy and her brother in law, Robert F. Kennedy, are approaching the communion rail to receive Holy Communion from Cardinal Cushing.
 
The Basilica of Saint Joseph Proto-Cathedral in Bardstown, Kentucky. In 1808, four new Catholic dioceses were created at the request of Bishop Carroll of Baltimore. They included Bardstown along with Boston, New York, and Philadelphia. The new diocese of Bardstown covered almost the entire Northwest Territory, south to New Orleans and as far north as Detroit. So this is pretty much where it started in the West. It was the first Cathedral west of the Allegheny Mountains. Benedict Joseph Flaget was appointed Bishop over this territory. The cornerstone was laid in 1816.

http://www.bardstown.com/~stjoe/Sj.jpg

(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)

It was so much more beautiful before the remodeling after Vatican II 😦

I apologize for the black and white photos, but here are some from the 1930’s.

http://kydgi.ky.gov:2005/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=%

http://kydgi.ky.gov:2005/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/PH&CISOPTR=323&CISOBOX=1&REC=5
 
Oops link didn’t work on interior of Basilica of Saint Joseph Proto-Cathedral in Bardstown.

 
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