Behind the Scenes of New Painting

Pennsylvania artist Eric Armusik recently completed a painting of the Crucifixion for St. Sebastian parish in Akron.  Here is a short video of the process.

St. Hedwig, Toledo

There's an article in the Toledo Free Press regarding St. Hedwig's church on Lagrange in Toledo -- click HERE.

John Baptiste Verment, an architect / stonecarver originally from France, is credited as the architect of St. Hedwig's church.

Christians Under Siege in Mideast

 Icon representing the Coptic martyrs

Some sources for news and ways to help:

Catholic Near East Welfare Association

Aid to the Church in Need

Help Iraq

Patrick Keely Symposium in New York

On Friday, March 20, 2015, The Monuments Conservancy will present its 25th Symposium at the New York Marriott East Side, 525 Lexington Avenue, 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 pm, to  discuss the life and legacy of Patrick Charles Keely.  Keely was one of the most influential church architects of late 19th Century America.  In the Diocese of Toledo, St Francis de Sales chapel in Toledo and St. Peter & Paul church in Sandusky were his designs.

This year's theme is "The Eucharistic Foundation of Patrick Charles Keely's Artistry."   For more information, call 212-764-5645 x10 or email symposium@nationalsculpture.org

UPDATE:  Here's a link to online text of "Patrick Charles Keely, architect; a record of his life and work" by Francis Kervick -- click HERE.

Basilicas and More Basilicas

Pope Francis has named the National Shrine of the Little Flower in Royal Oak, Michigan, as a Minor Basilica.  Details HERE.

Somehow I missed several churches in Ohio being given the designation recently:

St John in Canton

St Mary of the Assumption in Marietta

Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Youngstown

Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon in North Jackson (near Youngstown).

Our local basilica, Our Lady of Consolation in Carey, was given the title in 1971.

A list of all basilicas in the United States HERE.

Re-purpose . . .

The massive old brick smokestack at St. Joseph church in Tiffin will now serve as the structure for the radio antenna broadcasting St. John Paul the Great Radio (FM 103.3 WSJG-LP).

And speaking of radio -- Catholic radio personalities Marcus Grodi and Dr. Ray Guarendi will speak at the Toledo Men's Conference on Sat., March 14, 2015 at the SeaGate Centre.  Details HERE.

Other Blogs of Note

Check 'em out . . .

Roamin' Catholic Churches - photos of churches in Wisconsin, Chicago, other areas in Midwest:

http://roamincatholicchurches.blogspot.com/

Detroit Church Blog:

http://detroitchurchblog.blogspot.com/

Also, a helpful resource for architecture in Canada (1800 - 1950): 

http://www.dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org/introduction

The Twin Church of Reed Assumption

Blessed Sacrament Church in Lawton, Oklahoma

The former Assumption church in Reed, Ohio, near Bellevue.

Recently a reader of this blog, Marilyn Landoll, sent along a fascinating story about a twin church of Assumption in Reed, that was built in Lawton, Oklahoma:

"It is my understanding that one of the original contributors to the building of the church [in Reed] was Jacob Landoll.  He later moved his family (12 children) to Lawton, Oklahoma.   Two of Jacob's sons, Phil and Albert, later traveled back to Ohio to review/copy (?) the building plans.  These two men helped to build a church in Lawton, called Blessed Sacrament.  It is amazing how similar the design and exterior of Blessed Sacrament is to Assumption ...  Family legend has it that when Phil was helping to build Blessed Sacrament, he put each brick into a bucket of water.  Those bricks that floated were rejected.  Nearly 100 years later, Blessed Sacrament is still solid!  Also, there are still Landoll's serving in the church and school at Blessed Sacrament in Lawton, OK."

According to a parish history of Reed Assumption, their church was designed by Erhard Brielmaier and Sons, architects of Milwaukee.  And on the Lawton Blessed Sacrament website, it says there may be a church in Kansas that used the same plans.

Many thanks to Marilyn for sharing this history!  

St. Stephen, East Toledo

Some good photos of St. Stephen's church at the "Michigan Exposures" blog, click HERE. 

A New Steeple

Last year about this time, the steeple and belfry of St. Mary's in Norwalk was damaged in a wind storm. The steeple was removed along with the belfry, and a temporary box was put over the bell and digital carillon to protect it until the new steeple could be raised.

Just this week the newly designed/repaired steeple was put into place.(photos below by Mike Doughty)

In other news of the parish - there is much interior damage, especially to the ceiling, that needs to be addressed. A capital campaign has been started to raise funds for the repairs. Please see the website for more details and to donate online. http://www.stmarynorwalk.org/campaign.html

Ecclesiastical Architects, Artists, and Artisans - 4th Edition!

Pittsburgh author Delma Tallerico has just released the fourth edition of her book, Ecclesiastical Architects, Artists, and Artisans in America: 1860-1920.  Several of the architects and artists have substantial works in the Toledo Diocese.  You can see a preview and table of contents by clicking HERE and selecting the Preview.  (Cover photo is St. Agnes Church in Brooklyn, NY.)

New Painting, with Welcome by New Bishop

The Toledo Museum of Art has acquired The Liberation of St. Peter by Italian artist Luca Giordano (1634–1705).  The painting will be introduced to the public on November 13, with a presentation to include remarks by Toledo Bishop Daniel Thomas.  Details HERE.

Installation of Bishop Daniel Thomas

You can watch the ceremony live online, Wednesday, Oct. 22.  Details HERE.

Polish Churches in Toledo

The Toledo Polish Genealogy Society has compiled histories of Toledo churches with Polish heritage.  Some of the histories include photos from the Diocesan archives.  You can view them HERE.

Artwork handed on from Bishop Schrembs . . . to Bishop Thomas

At a Aug. 26 morning press conference, Bishop Daniel Thomas noted that he received a piece of artwork from now-deceased Cardinal John Foley -- the piece was originally owned by the first bishop of the Toledo Diocese, Bishop Joseph Schrembs.  Full story over at Catholic Philly. 

Toledo's new Bishop: Bishop Daniel E. Thomas

Currently Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia, more details at the Deacon's Bench blog HERE.

You can see a short vocations video by Bishop Thomas HERE.

St. Nicholas, Miller City

Designed by architect William Ginther, dedicated in 1902.  Note the dormers along the roof, no longer there.  Image courtesy of the Walleye Warrior's ebay collection -- see more post cards HERE.

St. Joseph, Sylvania

Post card of earlier St. Joseph church in Sylvania -- I think this is the first church, built in 1871; a second church was built in 1930.  The current church was built in 1967.

Icons of St. George Coptic Orthodox Church

The slow death of an old Church - St. James: Chicago, IL

Hello!

As promised from long ago, I have pictures from the demolition of St. James in Chicago, IL. They can be found on my Smugmug. Click here or on the picture.

It's a sad, sad thing - painful to watch the slow progression of demolition. I was able to be in on some inside scoops of the politics surrounding the process of condemnation and eventual demolition. I don't mean to continue the politics, but a lot of shame should be put on the Archdiocese of Chicago. You can easily find many articles on this subject that clearly show how there were many potential options for preservation, or at least salvage opportunities. In the end, the Archdiocese decided that demolishing the church with little to no salvage work (and with a promise of building a new one) was best. We'll see what becomes of this "new church". So far, not a thing.

I am glad I was able to experience it and document it in such detail. Some things that just couldn't really be captured were the sounds of stained glass breaking from the various claws and buckets gnawing away at the structure, and the sight of watching workers busting out 100+ year old stained glass with crowbars, knowing full well that with a little more effort and investment, those magnificent windows could have been saved. That latter moment was not captured on "film" by me; I think I was just too horrified and dumbfounded to react.

One has to wonder what will become of the 1891 Roosevelt organ that was dismantled and "put into storage". The same goes for the unique 20-bell Chime which suffered a similar fate. One can hope that they'll be again reunited with their home parish and not sold off to the scrappers or parted out.

Hopefully the parish of St. James can recover from this one of many losses. They have struggled with their numbers for some time, however the amount of community work they do is incredible.

Thank you for reading and checking out the pictures!

Soon I will actually post again on some churches back in Ohio when I take a road trip home.