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.

St. Mary, Sandusky

An old photo of St. Mary church in Sandusky, uncertain of date.  It looks like it may be not long after its completion, which would be around 1880.

Sorrowful Mother Shrine, Bellevue

A beautiful time of year for a stroll through the woods at Sorrowful Mother Shrine.

Pope Francis Portrait

From the cover of the Knights of Columbus "Columbia" magazine, a portrait of Pope Francis by Italian artist Antonella Cappuccio.  Her website is 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.

Munich Studio

An earlier post about stained glass mentioned the Munich Studio of Chicago, an artistic firm comprised mostly of German immigrants.  David Stanley, a great-grandson of Munich Studio treasurer, Franz Ludwig Holtzschuh, shared a photo of a watercolor by Holtzschuh, along with this information:

He was born in Dinkelsbühl, Bayern, Germany in 1859, immigrated to the U.S. in 1885 and was naturalized in 1892. He moved with his family from Kentucky to Chicago sometime between 1892 and the 1900 census. This little painting has survived the years, folded, stained, torn and fixed with a black tar like glue to a backing (about 8.5 by 11). It is undated but it is easy to assume we are not looking at a scene in America.

Our Lady of the Angels Convent, Marywood

Above is a post card showing the chapel at Our Lady of the Angels convent, formerly located in Marywood beside the current St. Gaspar del Bufalo church.  Precious Blood sisters lived in the convent, located near Sorrowful Mother Shrine.  The building is still standing, but is privately owned.  Photo is from 1950. 

Findlay St. Michael School, 1927

A photo of students from St. Michael School in Findlay, from the 1927 parish yearbook.  Unfortunately, there is no list of names in the book.

 

Photo of the church from the same book, looking much as it does today.

 

St. Peter, Mansfield

An illustration of St. Peter's in Mansfield, showing both the older and current churches when they were still side by side.

Pascha

Best wishes to Orthodox Christians celebrating the Resurrection of our Lord this weekend.  Click HERE to see previous posts about area Orthodox churches.

Also -- see the results of 6 years of painting at St. Stephen Serbian Orthodox Church near Buffalo:  click HERE.

The Places Catholics Call Home

Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington DC and author Mike Aquilina have just released a new book, "The Church: Unlocking the Secrets of the Places Catholics Call Home."  See trailer above.

St. James, Chicago IL

First of all, let me say "hello" again. It's been ages since I've posted anything. Kevin has been doing a fantastic job keeping all of this going.

One of the church in the immediate area where I live is slated for demolition in the coming weeks. The church has been "abandoned" for just over 4 years now. The story goes that it was "condemned" by the Archdiocese of Chicago after the Cathedral caught on fire and its roof suffered damage around the same time. The same architect designed both the cathedral and St. James, as well as Nativity of Our Lord HERE and HERE, that I have also posted on, among a few other churches in the diocese. Thus, all churches in the diocese that were designed by the architect, Patrick Keeley, were examined out of "precaution" for similar potential defects (the roof damage, potential for collapse).

Here are some news articles to read up on about the church:

http://www.wbez.org/blogs/lee-bey/2012-10/st-james-infirmity-distressed-century-old-catholic-church-heads-toward 

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-03-29/entertainment/chi-kogan-st-james-20130329_1_new-church-palm-sunday-old-church

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-04-18/news/chi-save-st-james-catholic-church-20130418-quigley_briefs_1_archdiocese-historic-st-bronzeville

Below is the damage that was done over the past 4 years in examining the church for its structural integrity. These interior pictures are from a few months ago. All outside pictures are from today. The interior is now, from what I understand, nearly empty. The organ was removed last month (I got to play it when I visited). The last of the bells were removed today. The pews, status, etc are said to have been removed. The remaining stain glass windows I believe will be removed (they are Tiffany windows). The church caught fire in the 1970's and most of the stained glass windows were destroyed and never restored.

The diocese is supposed to build another church, at a supposed lower cost than renovating the current one. (The parish currently celebrates mass in a hall across the street).  The parish hopes to have the 20 bell chimes and the organ (among other artifacts) reused in a new church. Currently, the diocese is putting these items in "storage". Who knows what that means.

Below are some pictures of the bells. 

The diocese is supposed to build another church, at a supposed lower cost than renovating the current one. (The parish currently celebrates mass in a hall across the street).  The parish hopes to have the 20 bell chimes and the organ (among other artifacts) reused in a new church. Currently, the diocese is putting these items in "storage". Who knows what that means.

 

I hope to be able to get into the
church before the wrecking ball hits. There is fierce resistance from the parishioners, so the legal battle is still being fought. If I can get pictures of the demo I will. It's a really sad story, such a beautiful church building in a neighborhood that has little of its original charm left. 

 

Sorry for the watermarks (and that huge spacing issue) Since it's sort of a media issue here, I just ought to protect myself a little. I also haven't posted in quite a while, and the editor has changed - not used to it! :-P Will post again soon!

St. Rose, Perrysburg

St. Rose of Lima -- defender against Pirates!

Fr. Andrew Apostoli to speak in Perrysburg

Annunciation Radio is presenting a talk by Fr. Andrew Apostoli at St. Rose church in Perrysburg, Monday evening, April 8, 2013.  Fr. Andrew is one of the founders of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, assists with the cause of canonization of Archbishop Fulton Sheen, and is an expert on Fatima.  Click HERE for details.

Support Your Local Bookstores

Sorry to learn that the Angelus bookstore in Tiffin will be closing as of June 1, 2013.  It's a challenging business, and many of the smaller stores have found it hard to survive.  We're fortunate to have Reger's in Toledo, Churchill's in Toledo and at the Sorrowful Mother Shrine in Bellevue, and the gift shop at Our Lady of Consolation Shrine in Carey.  There's also Patron Saint Medals online based in Sandusky.

If you know of other stores, feel free to mention them in comments.

Chrism Mass at Rosary Cathedral

You can view a slide show of this year's Diocesan Chrism Mass - click HERE.

Good Friday Walk to the Shrine in Carey

UPDATE FOR 2016:  For information on the Frenchtown to Carey Good Friday Walk, click HERE, see bulletin Page 8.  March 25, 2016: Service starts at St. Nicholas chapel, Frenchtown, at 8:40 a.m. (Drivers can get a shuttle from Carey to Frenchtown at 8:15 a.m.)
 . . . . . . . 

Continuing a tradition, there will be a walk from St. Nicholas chapel in Frenchtown to Our Lady of Consolation in Carey, Ohio on Good Friday. 
 

 Statue of St. Anthony with the Child Jesus.

 8th Station: Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem.

Francis!

After much speculation as to which St. Francis (Assisi? Xavier? de Sales?) our new Pope hopes to emulate with his name, we now know it is indeed Assisi.
But hey, they're all good.
(Image is stained glass window at the former Providence Hospital in Sandusky.)