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

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MrDickerson said:
This picture makes me want to fall on my knees! St. Louis, MO looks like a Mecca of splendid churches. That must be the reason why it’s called the “Rome of the West”! 😃

I’m having a lot of fun with this thread, if it isn’t yet apparent.
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I know, that church looks great! I’ve noticed that a little colored light, whether it’s from stained glass windows or accented lighting, makes the interiors look much better.
 
benedictgal said:
This is a picture of Our Lady of the Atonement, an Anglican-use Catholic parish in San Antonio. From what I understand, Mother Angelica’s order has set up shop there.

Like I said, San Antonio has a plethora of beautiful churches.
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Yes, the good sisters have come to us!
And we do have some awfully pretty churches!
 
St. Mary’s, Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Covington, KY; as great as it looks now, it looked even better before it was recently “renovated” to conform with apparent Vatican II directives that mandated a free-standing altar on a platform that juts out into the nave.

http://www.covcathedral.com/images/altar_nwin_sm.jpg

It also boasts the largest stained-glass window in a church, in the whole world. If you don’t believe me, look it up in the Guinness Book of World Records. When it was built, it was THE largest stained-glass window, period, but since then a mausoleum has been built near Chicago which has a larger window. Still, it is the largest stained-glass window in a church in the world:
http://thelongestlistofthelongeststuffatthelongestdomainnameatlonglast.com/images3/stained.JPG
23 feet wide, and 300 feet long.

Who would have thought it could be right here in Kentucky, U.S.A., and not in England or Paris? 😛
 
Our Lady of Good Counsel, New York City

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Here is a picture of Mission San Jose in San Antonio. Even though it is quite simple, it is beautiful. There is no doubt in one’s mind that one is inside a Catholic Church!



Here is another pretty little church. It is Panna Maria, Texas. It is a Polish parish.



Texas does have some pretty ecclesiastical treasures. 👍
 
JPUSC said:
The interior looks pretty good for a Lutheran church. If they added a Crucifix in the front and few statues along the sides, it would make a great Catholic church, haha. 😃

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3024/2541759966_ff4e523c54.jpg
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This is a stunningly beautiful interior, very simple and pure. However, being Catholic, I sure would be aided in prayer by a few pieces of religious art; e.g., crucifix, statuary, etc., and of course, the Real Presence in the tabernacle.

That being said, this is a very beautiful interior.

God bless,
Dan

P.S.: Thanks all for posting the pictures. If we are all blessed to spend eternity with our Lord, He will ask us, “So, what did you think of Notre Dame in Montreal? Nice place, huh?” And we’ll look around the heavenly splendor and turn back to the Lord and say, “Yeah, it was alright.” Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, what God has ready for those who love Him.
 
T700 said:
[Regarding a picture of the Shrine of Divine Mercy in the Philippines]

Taste is locally formed. My wife, born in the Southern Philippines is a Catholic who thinks this is one of the most beautiful edifices she’s ever seen. Of course, she likes balut, so her tastes are suspect.

One other thing to consider. This shrine is deep in the heart of the Muslim territory of Mindanao; about 20 kilometers from Cagayan de Oro City. For it to have been built is nothing short of a miracle and it serves as a great, visual testimony.

Paul
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Agreed. Within that context, I think it “works” very well. It is a dominant edifice in that area and, as you say, a testimony to Catholicism in an area that is not always friendly to our faith. That being said, I don’t think it would go over well in the west. But, again, that’s okay.

After reading your post, I guess I should count myself as blessed that neither my wife nor her family like balut. (I can’t envision my son with a chicken feather sticking out of his mouth, heh-heh.)

God bless,
Dan
 
JPUSC said:
Here’s the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire, Africa.

Our Lady of Sorrows in Chicago is also nice.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2336/2237791708_0c2c6c8255.jpg?v=0
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Our Lady of Sorrows Basilica is very beautiful. If you wanted to see it in black-and-white, do a youtube search for an Easter vigil mass celebrated there in the '40s. A Latin high mass is shown in its entirety, narrated by Fulton J. Sheen – Msgr. Sheen at the time.

Back in the 1940s, the church would have services dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows and would have several of these on the weekends because people would be wrapped around the block waiting to get in – and it is a fairly large church. The worn marble flooring testifies to the numbers. I guess those days are over.

But, yes, this is a rewarding visit. Atlso, it’s the location of National Shrine of St. Peregrine, the cancer saint.

God bless,
Dan
 
danonwaveland said:
Our Lady of Sorrows Basilica is very beautiful. If you wanted to see it in black-and-white, do a youtube search for an Easter vigil mass celebrated there in the '40s. A Latin high mass is shown in its entirety, narrated by Fulton J. Sheen – Msgr. Sheen at the time.

Back in the 1940s, the church would have services dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows and would have several of these on the weekends because people would be wrapped around the block waiting to get in – and it is a fairly large church. The worn marble flooring testifies to the numbers. I guess those days are over.

But, yes, this is a rewarding visit. Atlso, it’s the location of National Shrine of St. Peregrine, the cancer saint.

God bless,
Dan
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I’ve seen that video! I didn’t realize it was this church. That’s interesting about the long lines for Mass. Was there something extraordinary that attracted so many people?
 
Two years ago, I visited “enemy” territory (College Station, TX, better known as “Aggieland”; I am a UT Longhorn grad) for a job-related conference. I heard Mass at St. Thomas More Parish, in their Blessed Sacrament Chapel. It is modern, but, it was actually quite lovely.

http://www.stabcs.org/pictures/Eucharistic Chapel.jpg

You could fit about 40-50 people inside for daily Mass. It was nice and quite for 7AM.

Here is another gem. It is St. Joseph’s from St. Louis, MO, I believe:



St. Louis does have some pretty churches.
 
Here is the exterior of St. Francis di Paola in San Antonio, TX.

http://www.wcr.ab.ca/columns/tedfitzgerald/2004/images/paola-church.jpg

I don’t have interior shots, but, believe me, it is beautiful on the inside. It has bluish-green marble columns and chandeliers. The statuary is from Italy.

Even though the caption says San Fernando, it is St. Francis di Paola.

Here is another picture from San Antonio. It is the chapel of the University of the Incarnate Word. I haven’t been inside the chapel, but, when we were test-driving Jeeps on Broadway, it was along the route.

http://www.uiw.edu/giving/images/chapel2.jpg

It is a little sparse, but, it is still pretty, at least from the pictures.
 
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