Update on BG St. Aloysius Mural

One of the artists working on the mural restoration at St. Aloysius, Stephan Giannini, has a post on his website showing updates and explaining the process.  You can see it HERE.

He has also assembled many photos of muralist Felix Lieftucher's other works and biographical information HERE.

Bishop Alter

Grave of Bishop Karl Alter, Gate of Heaven cemetery in Cincinnati.

Lorain County Sacred Landmarks

Just to the east of the Toledo Diocese, the Lorain County Sacred Landmarks Initiative sponsors events and provides information to promote the wide variety of religious landmarks in their region.  They've just re-activated their Facebook page, full of photos and features:  Click HERE.
Plans are in the making for a tour of neighborhoods & churches in central Lorain sometime in May.

Photo above: Saint John the Baptist Ukrainian Byzantine Catholic Church in Lorain

Video of St. Aloysius mural restoration

From the Sentinel Tribune in Bowling Green

St. Aloysius, Bowling Green

Top photo, an angel in the mural is visible through the scaffolding.  EverGreene Architectural Arts is working on the mural restoration.  Thanks to Allan Dieball for sharing the photos.

Lieftuchter Mural to be Restored in BG

Exciting news: as part of renovations at St. Aloysius Church in Bowling Green, the Felix Lieftuchter mural of 7 angels will be uncovered and restored.  See details in the parish brochure HERE.  Some black & white photos of the mural can be seen HERE.

St. Peter, Mansfield

St. Peter parish in Mansfield has a portion of their website dedicated to the history of the church and schools.  Great photos and details - click HERE.

Elsewhere ...

A symposium on the legacy of Irish-American architect Patrick Charles Keely (designer of Toledo's St. Francis de Sales and Sandusky's St. Peter & Paul churches) will be held Friday, March 21, 2014 in New York City at the Time-Life building.  For full details, contact Donald M. Reynolds of the Monuments Conservancy, phone (212) 643-8730.  This is a sequel to last year's Keely conference.

And in Buffalo, New York, the "Buffalo Mass Mob" brings together groups of people to attend Mass at historic Catholic churches which might otherwise be overlooked.  Their website is HERE.

St. Joseph, Fremont

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.