Saints Louis & Zelie Martin

Tile portrait of Saints Zelie and Louis Martin (parents of St. Therese of Lisieux), at Little Flower church in Toledo.

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.

Little Flower, Toledo

You can see plans for Little Flower's interior renovation at their website.  Inspiration for the design is Pope John Paul II's private chapel when he served as Archbishop in Krakow.  Click HERE.  Thanks to Shari for the heads-up.

Little Flower, Toledo

A new look for Little Flower parish in Toledo:  a new entrance and bell tower.  Details HERE.

Little Flower, West Toledo

Little Flower

Even tarted up for the holidays ( And I use the term deliberately ) it still looks like a high school auditorium furnished from WalMart and Ikea.

Little Flower, Toledo

I was aware of the fact that Little Flower parish is thinking of building a new church. A comment, recently, set me to looking into their need for one. The current building dates from well before the mad dash to the suburbs, so, like many suburban parishes, Little Flower has grown dramatically. Let's put it this way. If, some Sunday, 100% of the registered members decide to show up for Mass, they're going to have to move it out into the parking lot. The current building is just too small and doesn't even come close to meeting the needs of the parish.

Now, if you read this blog regularly, you know that showing me a picture like the one above is like waving a red flag in front of a bull. In this case, I'd like to wish the parish well. I'd encourage them to look to the future, rather than clinging to the past and to find out what people actually want a church to look like, rather than having a small committee of "experts" tell them what they should want in order to match the "cutting edge" of ecclesiology. ( Which usually means being permanently stuck in neutral around 1979. ) Times have changed. Follow the lead of the Holy Father and of the young architects, designers, and artists, rather than has-beens like Vosko. Consider providing a home for some of the artwork from the closed parishes. It's high in quality, can fit into a new design beautifully, and should be used instead of collecting dust in storage. Don't forget to make room for some of the excellent artwork the parish already has.

The Holy Father says the Church isn't an either/or proposition. It's both/and. Church architecture and design should never be a matter of hidebound idealogy, whether "progressive" or "traditionalist". It should be a matter of old and new working together for the glory of God, the true purpose of any church.

And if you're looking for ideas on the sort of thing most people really like, try one of the most successful suppliers, Granda Liturgical Arts.

Little Flower, Toledo

Now, this I like.

Little Flower, Toledo

Yes, though you might not notice at first glance, Little Flower parish has some tolerable artwork.

Unfortunately, they've put it all out in the halls, in order to make the sactuary look like a meeting room at the Holiday Inn.

Little Flower, Toledo

This really isn't bad at all, on the outside. Doesn't look like a dentist's office, and there's enough detailing to make it interesting.

I'll deal with the interior tomorrow.

By the way, does anyone know why it's not called St. Therese?