St. Mary, Sandusky

A photo gallery of Christmas Eve mass, courtesy of the Sandusky Register.  Click HERE.

The Catholic Photographer

Click HERE to see a gallery of 80 photos of Rosary Cathedral in Toledo, taken by Bob Mullen, "The Catholic Photographer" of Vernon, CT.  Especially good: photos of Jan de Rosen's murals in the side aisles.  There are photos of many other churches as well.

St. Josaphat's Damaged Spire in Detroit

Storm damage seems to be our theme lately . . . above is an amazing video of the damaged spire of St. Josaphat's church in Detroit.  If you've driven through Detroit on I-75, you have probably seen the landmark.

Storm at Cloverdale

The small parish of St. Barbara's in Cloverdale (between Defiance and Lima) had their church almost leveled in yesterday's storm.  From their Facebook page:

Please pray for the Cloverdale community and our St. Barbara's parish. For those of you who have not heard exactly what happened, our church has been almost completely leveled by the storm and the rectory badly damaged (the parish hall is still standing). The front entrance of the church is still standing but the rest is gone. The back shrine with the holy family and St Barbara statue is still intact and the votive candles are actually still burning. The tabernacle with Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament has been buried in the rubble, so pray that we will be able to get it out so Fr. Jerry can make sure the Eucharist is not lost. Again, please pray for the community, as there is much sorrow and grief over the loss of such a great temple

Link to video: click HERE.

Storm Damage - St. Mary Norwalk

In the recent storms that moved their way through Ohio, Norwalk was hit particularly hard, with many damaged buildings and homes. The First Baptist Church (Oasis of God) had one of it's turrets blown off (see picture from wkyc.com). It was reported that winds of up to 100 mph blew through the area.


St. Mary's in Norwalk was also damaged. Much of the masonry at the top of the tower was disturbed. Some even fell to the ground and onto the church roof, causing damage to the roof and plaster ceiling inside. The damage is severe enough that the streets surrounding the church are closed in case of further structural failure, and all masses and other events have been moved to the school gym. See the Norwalk Reflector article below:

http://www.norwalkreflector.com/article/3743856

Interestingly enough, this is not the first time the steeple has suffered wind damage. A wind storm in the 50's damaged the original ornamentation at the base of the steeple. See the below blog post for a picture.

http://catholictoledo.blogspot.com/2007/04/st-mary-norwalk_20.html

Plans for the future of the steeple and tower are to be determined. See below for pictures of the exterior damage. Note the masonry that is shifted, missing or pulling away from the structure. Extensive interior damage was also noted by engineers. I do not have any pictures of interior damage at this point in time.

I will post an update once further plans are outlined. Until then, updates of the situation can be followed on the parish's Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/St-Mary-Mother-of-the-Redeemer-Catholic-Church/188089864270

(Photo: Mike Doughty)

(Photo: Mike Doughty)

(Photo: Janotta & Herner)

(Photo: Janotta & Herner)

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In other news, this is what it looks like when a steeple starts to come down:

St. James Catholic Church, Chicago IL. (After a long delayed promise of posting, here is one picture. I will make a detailed post when demolition is completed.)

Ecclesiastical Architects & Artists

Pittsburgh writer Delma Tallerico has just released the third edition of her book, Ecclesiastical Architects, Artists, and Artisans in America: 1860-1920: A depository of names, dates, projects, locations and biographical sketches.  It's a real treasure trove for anyone exploring the beauty of Catholic churches throughout the United States.  Delma has spent some time perusing this blog, so she's added more than a few of our local favorites to her listings.  

 

You can find full details and ordering information HERE.

Caravaggio in Detroit

 Caravaggio's St. Francis of Assisi in Ecstasy will be displayed at the Detroit Institute of Art until January 12, 2014.  It will be shown alongside Caravaggio's Martha & Mary Magdalene.

150 Years at St. Michael's, Kelleys Island

There's an interesting video about St. Michael's parish on Kelleys Island at the Catholic Chronicle website.  Click HERE.

"Come, My Way, My Truth, My Life"

A wonderful music video from the Dominican Province of St. Joseph. (Historically, they were very influential in spreading Catholicism in Ohio, and have parishes in the Columbus and Cincinnati areas.)

Help an Artist

Chicago area artist Daniel Mitsui has been creating incredible prints on Christian themes and other subjects for several years.  He and his wife have a new baby girl who was born at 25 weeks and faces many health challenges.  You can view his artwork HERE.

St. Mary, Assumption

Now named Holy Trinity.  Image is from about 1910.  Assumption was previously known as Caraghar or Caraghar's Corners as early as 1840.

Rossford Churches

Over at the Ohio Memory Project website, there are many photos of Ss. Cyril & Methodius, St. Mary Magdalene and St. Michael Ukrainian churches and events.  Click HERE.  (Search term was "Rossford church", so there are other items as well.)

Holy Angels, Sandusky

Holy Angels church in Sandusky, the oldest of the three parishes in that city.  Read more about its history in previous posts -- click HERE.

Meanwhile in Akron . . .

St. Sebastian's parish is inaugurating the Academy of Culture & Arts, with the purpose of helping "young people as well as adults climb to the next level of cultural engagement so as not to merely be spectators or instruments of culture, but to be the instruments of influence; to use arts and culture to lift the human spirit, build up human dignity, give glory to God, and use truth and beauty to bring about the Good in the shaping of our world."  Click HERE for details.  St. Sebastian's pastor, Fr. John Valencheck, writes more about the idea for the academy HERE.

Dedication of Little Flower, Toledo

The renovated sanctuary and altar at Little Flower parish was dedicated by Bishop Blair on Sunday, Sept. 8.  You can see some fine photos of the event by Shari York Stowell  - click HERE.

Prayers for Peace

The Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation in Carey will host a time for prayer before the Blessed Sacrament on Saturday, Sept. 7 in solidarity with Pope Francis' call for prayer for peace in Syria.  Details HERE.

Immaculate Conception, Port Clinton

 Built in 1902.

 

Marian shrine in honor of longtime pastor Fr. Karl Brand.

Quotation from Northwest Ordinance on the school.

St. John's Alum, the Vatican & Harleys!

Toledo St. John's Jesuit graduate David Uhl was commissioned to create a postcard featuring the Vatican and a Harley-Davidson motorcycle -- full story HERE.  Uhl's website is HERE.

Gerhard Lamers, Artist

The artwork of Gerhard Lamers has not been featured previously on this blog -- this is hopefully the first step in highlighting his works.

Lamers was born in Kleve, Germany, near the Dutch border in 1871, studied at the Munich Art Academy, and started an art school in Muenster.  He first visited America in 1925 to work on the cathedral in Wheeling, WV [update: presumably as assistant to Felix Lieftuchter, source HERE, page 12].  He returned to the U.S. in 1928, and while he was associated with the many German Catholic artists of Cincinnati, his style was much different, with one writer noting that he "leans heavily on Byzantine prototypes.  His angels, saints and apostles . . . are elongated, archaic bodies, reminiscent of mosaics in Eastern European churches of the tenth and eleventh centuries."

He was quite active in Ohio and the Midwest.  Some examples include:

• The apse mural of Mother of Sorrows at Put in Bay, which can be seen HERE.  It is also featured in the first pages of the Toledo Diocese History from 2009.
• Murals at Most Pure Heart of Mary in Shelby
• Various works at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus
• The shrine of Monte Casino at St. Meinrad, Indiana.
• Holy Family church in Cincinnati (in the late 1940s)

Apparently Lamers was the subject of a retrospective exhibit at a museum in Kleve, Germany in 1980, "Der Kirchenmaler Gerhard Lamers."  (The Church Painter.)  Lamers died in 1964 in Cincinnati.  In the future, I hope to feature photos of his works.

Evening at the Shrine

Before the Vigil Mass at Our Lady of Consolation in Carey.

 



 

"Surprise Lilies", also called Resurrection Lilies, at the Shrine Park.

St. Francis in silhouette.

Why Churches Are Tall . . .

An interesting post: click HERE.

St. Paul Chapel, Hamler

St. Ann, Fremont

 A few photos of the detail work on St. Ann's in Fremont.

Some photos showing the entire building are HERE.

St. Paul Chapel, Hamler

Built in 1924, St. Paul's chapel was designed by architects Comes and Perry.

Photo by Harry J. Wilson, Geographer, of Ohio Northern University in Ada.  Wilson has been adding photos of area churches to Google mapping.

Name That Saint! [Updated!]

I could have sworn I made a post about this years ago, but I could not come across it. So, here I am "posting again". The following pictures are details of the Nave windows at St. Mary's in Norwalk. Each window has two saints. None of them have labels. A few are obvious, but I have never been able to I.D. all of them, nor has anyone else I know.

Leave a comment if you know any of them! Click on the picture for a larger image.

[UPDATE: I've put some names in. If they do not have ??'s then they are for certain that saint. The ones with ??'s are probably's, and the rest are still unknown.]

P.S. - I intend to post an update on St. James in Chicago soon. Demolition has started, but is going slowly.

Saint #1
(??Catherine of Siena??)

Saint #2

Saint #3

Saint #4
(St. Patrick)

Saint #5
(??St. Anthony??)

Saint #6
(St. Dominic)

Saint #7
(St. Helena)

Saint #8
(??St. Paul??)

Saint #9

Saint #10

Saint #11
(??St. Joseph??)

Saint #12
(??Mary With
Baby Jesus??)

Saint #13
(??St. Francis of Assisi??)

Saint #14
(??John the Baptist??)

Saint #15
(??Bartholomew
the Apostle??)

Saint #16

John T. Comes, Architect

Above, an excerpt from a presentation to seminarians by architect John T. Comes in 1920.  Comes was the initial designer of Rosary Cathedral, as well as St. Martin de Porres in Toledo, St. Mary's in Millersville, and St. Paul's chapel in Hamler, and an influence on several others. 
Thanks to David McMunn, a Pittsburgh resident researching Comes' life and work, for sharing this publication from the Carnegie Mellon University archives.

Church Symbols

Click HERE to access an online copy of "Church Symbolism" by F.R. Webber.  Illustrations and explanations, plus details about artists / architects in the early 1900s.

St. James, Bronzeville - Chicago

So it seems for sure that St. James here in Chicago is going to undergo demolition starting tomorrow. Read the articles below. This picture is from today. I will be in the area and will be keeping an eye on the "progress".

My previous post on St. James

 Chicago Tribune Article

Friends of St. James

Amazing Photos

There's a beautiful gallery of church photography at Sherlock Photography -- Toledo area churches include St. Martin de Porres, Historic St. Patrick's, Good Shepherd, and St. Stephen.  Many Detroit churches as well -- click HERE.

Rosary Cathedral, Toledo

Rosary Cathedral will host a "Fortnight for Freedom" Mass on Sunday, June 30, at 10 a.m., with Bishop Leonard Blair presiding.

 

Above, one of John de Rosen's murals. Both photos by James Powell.