Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Two fine churches

Here are some pictures of two American churches, one Catholic and the other Presbyterian. It's not hard to pick which is which - the Catholic church is the more ornate. Both churches are beautiful and demonstrate what American culture was capable of.

I'll start with the Catholic church, namely the St Francis de Sales Oratory in St Louis. It is impressive from the outside with a soaring spire:


St Francis de Sales Oratory

 
Here is the altar:



The other church, the Fourth Presbyterian, is in Chicago. It has a courtyard:




The interior is very fine (the first photo looks best if you click to expand it):





It was not that long ago that such impressive church architecture was being created in America. The St Francis Oratory was completed in 1908; the Fourth Presbyterian in 1914.

4 comments:

  1. And look what the church bought more recently: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_Cathedral

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  2. Sadly, I think the state of architecture reflects the state of the Faith in our day. Those great structures you show inspire awe and worship in me and I'm sure the music within would as well.

    Now we have multi-purpose buildings that look like commercial office space, built cheaply and pointing to the temporal. The music inside will make you feel as if you were at a rock concert.

    I suspect I would not feel indifferent to 'church' if she still clung to the Holy and the Kingdom to come.

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  3. Off-topic, but...

    There is an anti-Islamification rally on this Sunday, 17th March (9am) in Melbourne.

    http://www.protectionist.net/2013/03/12/protest-against-islamification-of-australia/

    People from various groups will be there.

    Come along and bring your friends.

    ReplyDelete