St. Patrick's, Providence

St. Patrick's was built, as I recall, in 1845, making it the second oldest extant church building in the diocese. Overall, it's been very well preserved, with one exception. I have no choice but to say that adding that vestibule, even though it's a very nice vestibule, was an act of vandalism. When building additions on historic structures, two questions should be asked. 1. Is it really necessary, and 2. Does it add to or detract from the appearance of the building? That part at the back passes muster on both counts. The vestibule doesn't.

Here's what it looked like in 1914.

By the way, I have no intention of opening the can of worms about the interior, because I think the recent fuss and fluster degenerated from a legitimate concern to an attack on legitimate authority. That's not a progression I could condone.