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A-visiting this Sunday in the realm of His Most Recent Eminence Sean Cardinal Patrick O’Malley deep in the heart of historical witch-country, I decided to play the good ecumenical officer, and deign to spin-the-bottle, as it were, with the local Catholic parish, St. Richards of Danvers.
We all know the marks of your average American parish, and all were there, including that liturgical signature - holy water fonts dry and draped purple. What really grabbed my attention though, and made me so glad I brought my camera, were the stained glass windows. You see, this parish was built in 1967, the very cusp of the liturgical revolution, when the Popes we love to quote were still well known to Catholics. And what thing more natural than to remember them in stained glass, albeit in a certain modern style and under interesting, but happy titles. Remember you can click to enlarge the photos…
My first and worst picture is of Pope St. Pius V under that grand heading, Reformer of the Liturgy.
Next, we have the now Blessed Pope Pius IX (but strangely listed as a Saint), under a title which I think he would have approved - Proclaimer of the Immaculate Conception.
I’m sure Iosephus will hearken to the likeness of that stately pontiff Leo XIII, whom we all know as Patron of Working Men.
Finally, our patron St. Pius X, whose image was so gallantly placed over the entrance to the side room reserved for the Blessed Sacrament, and remembered as the Sponsor of Early Communions.
It is generally not impossible to find a good Catholic architect these days. For example, Duncan Stroik at Notre Dame has designed some beautiful, traditional Churches, and publishes a periodical called Sacred Architecture, “[a] magazine devoted exclusively to issues of church architecture from an orthodox Catholic perspective.” http://www.sacredarchitecture.org. The availability of such proficient men is exactly why I find such monstrosities as the Cathedral in L.A. so inexcusable.
However, I do get the impression that finding good stained-glass artists these days is fairly near impossible. From an economic standpoint, it seems that demand has all but dried up, stifling supply. The craft is unknown because, frankly, it is generally unused. Terribly, terribly sad.
Of course, I’m no expert on such things. This is just what I have heard from those who know more than me.
There are still new churches with nice stained glass. For instance:
click here
See more of the remarkably nice pictures of this brand-new church here
Welcome to the North Shore, home turf to Recta Ratio, as well as Dom Bettinelli.
A-visiting this Sunday in the realm of His Most Recent Eminence Sean Cardinal Patrick O’Malley ….
The cardinal’s name and title are properly rendered, “Sean Patrick Cardinal O’Malley.” The cardinatial title should immediately precede the surname. See, for example,
http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bomalley.html
and every other cardinal listed in that site.
why do those novus ordo missalettes have that hideous art on the cover?
JSP,
Because bad translation and bad artwork seem to go hand-in-hand.
De gustibus non est disputandum.
“De gustibus non est disputandum”
I learned it as “De gustibus non disputandum est”
Is there really that much of a difference between “church” Latin and Vergil’s Latin? Sounds like an interesting topic for further comment.
Talking with Iacobus tonight, I was reminded that I had wanted to comment here . . .
I am offended, on behalf of my hero, Leo XIII, that he, the last pontiff of noble blood, should today be known as the “Patron of Working Men.” I spit in disgust. If any of these moronic liberals had ever bothered to read Rerum Novarum, I can’t see how they could be in such hysterics over it.
Basically, it says that the wealthy should treat the poor with kindness and pay them enough to raise Catholic families and give them enough holidays to observe all the holy-days of the Church. The poor and laboring classes, in turn, should know their place, treat the ruling classes with respect, not revolt, etc. Okay, so I exaggerate a little, but Rerum Novarum is far from being the Magna Carta of the peace and social justice movement, as the encyclical is known today.
All of which leaves aside the more important point which is that Leo wrote so many glorious encyclicals (in glorious Latin prose) which these stain glass boneheads would never deign to touch. If they knew of anything else he wrote, they would be so disgusted that they would give up Rerum Novarum in a sort of guilt by association.
Which is why I can only hope that his encyclicals may be more widely read so that they stop swooning over a single encyclical only of his, which they have clearly misuderstood.
That’s funny - one of my good friends is an ardent ideologue of the Left (and a Catholic).
Each year his parish’s Social Justice Committee made a “Rerum No