reorganisation and destruction of irish catholic churches

@Praxiteles wrote:

St. Joseph’s Church, Liscarroll, Co. Cork.

The latest we hear from the Cloyne HACK’s attempt to devastate the interior of this church is that 13 objections have been lodged with Cork County Council opposing the proposals to gut the interior and demolish the existing sacristy. Cork County Council wrote to the applicant on 24 May 2007 requesting further information – and well they might as it was not mentioned anywhere in the application that it was intended to demolish not only the altar rail but also the altar, the tabernacle and to erase the entire sanctuary platform – in true Will Dowsing fashion!

There were also a few hairy aspects to the application as lodged with Cork County Council. On a few headings, it should be possible to have the application declared invalid. We shall watch to see how that one works out.

Any interior shot?

@Praxiteles wrote:

Some brilliant photographs of St. Colman’s Cathedral, Cobh, Co. Cork

http://www.flickr.com/photos/58086761@N00/sets/72157600332866093/

Excellent set of photos Prax…thanks for putting up, great find.

@samuel j wrote:

Excellent set of photos Prax…thanks for putting up, great find.

The Cobh shots are exquisite! Who in his right mind could even contemplate monkeying around with this masterpiece of Gothic Revival architecture? I can scarcely imagine having to appeal to ABP to stay the hand of Herod from wielding the sledgehammer within this simulacrum of the New and Eternal Jerusalem coming down from God out of Heaven.

@Rhabanus wrote:

The interior, it must be confessed, needs some “picking up”, but not the kind that the pastor likely has in mind.

Agreed. It needs quite a bit of caretaking. The lamps are awful, and the sanctuary could do with a bit more stenciling maybe.

@Praxiteles wrote:

Indeed, I completely agree. There was a stencil scheme not only in the sanctuary area but throughout this church. It got paintd out in the late 50s or early 60s. After a period of consistent improvments, unfortunately, it was unlucky enough to have a succession of caretakers who entered into a reverse improvement mould. This last proposition for the church is, of course, beyond all.

Are pastors subject to any tests, such as jurisdictional examinations? Any term limits for the senile, the non- compos mentis, and the incompetent? Since only a rare few priests in Ireland have any background or upper-level education in sacred architecture, sacred art, and sacred music, should there not be strict limits imposed on just what a pastor can do to the church buildings entrusted to his care by the proper authority?

@Praxiteles wrote:

I do not know. But, I am inclined to think that the simple answer to that question must be no!

Readers of this thread may be interested in the June 2007 issue of The Catholic World Report which runs a special feature by Michael Kelly titled “From Saints to Secularists” on the decline of the Christian religion and culture in Ireland today. The front cover presents a photo of the former St Mary’s Church, Dublin, now “converted” into a pub (Keating’s Pub, in fact) with the banner: “After Christianity: How the Irish are losing civilization.”

The photo shows a bar erected in the nave of old St Mary’s. The organ and galleries seem in good condition.

What is going on over there?

@Rhabanus wrote:

I suppose that some of Ireland’s most exquisite Neo-Gothic churches would make lovely mosques.

Question: Is any church in Ireland still decorated with Barnaby garlands on 11 June – feast of St Barnabas? The custom is to deck out the church with garlands of roses and sweet woodruff. On the Julian calendar the feast of St Barnabas (or Barnaby) fell near the summer solstice, hence close to the longest day of the year.

Those entrusted with the decoration of sanctuaries and churches may wish to consult the following sources:

Bonnie Blackburn and Leofranc Holford-Stevens, Oxford Companion to the Year (Oxford University Press, 1999)], the rich patrimony of folklore and custom became neglected. There are all kinds of customs associated with feasts and seasons that either have disappeared or are now in danger of becoming lost. We are losing touch with our broader religious and devotional heritage.

Do any readers of this thread work on church gardens or decorate the interiors of churches or sanctuaries? As several readers have pointed out, there is much poverty of expression in this regard. Bad taste and inappropriate arrangements can detract from the architectural beauty of a church or altar, whereas thoughtful arrangements done with taste and attention to seasons and feasts can enhance the experience of liturgical prayer and foster authentic devotion.

Did any (Franciscan) churches yesterday (13 June), for example, bless and distribute lilies in honour of St Anthony of Padua or bless and distribute St Anthony’s bread?

The trillium, provincial flower of Ontario, Canada usually flourishes around Trinity Sunday. The flower has three white petals and three green leaves. A beautiful reminder of the Holy Trinity (as likewise the Irish shamrock is an apt symbol of the Blessed Trinity).

@Praxiteles wrote:

Rhabanus!

Do you know anything of the origin -Classical, I suspect – of covering the floors of the Roman churches with bay leaves? It is still done for the Stationes in Santa Sabina and in San Clemente.

For those not familiar with Roman stational liturgy, suffice it to say that in the Middle Ages, the pope with his entourage would celebrate Mass each day of Lent and the Easter Octave (and other significant feast days) at a different region of the City (Rome was divided into 7 regions with a deacon in charge of each region). This stational liturgy allowed the faithful of the City a chance to see the pope officiating in their region on a kind of regular basis. The elaborate protocols of this procedure can be read in Ordo Romanus I – the rite of the pope proceeding on his mount from the Lateran palace (chief papal residence in the early Middle Ages) to St Mary Major on Easter morning. Cuthbert Atchley provides a rather arch English translation of Ordo Romanus I for those who do not [yet] read Latin. [The best critical edition of Ordo Romanus I is found in Michel Andrieu, Ordines Romani, vol. I. The Latin grammar is quite easy and the vocabulary highly technical, which makes for easy, even entertaining, reading. Have a go and enjoy!]

A custom obtained in the Roman basilicas and churches of strewing the floors with bayleaves in order to deodorise the building during the liturgical rites and devotions, in view of the great crowds that would gather to participate in the papal Mass. [In the British Isles and northern countries, which suffered from rainy and damp weather, rushes or straw would be strewn in churches, halls, and manor houses in order to absorb the mud and dirt from the feet of pilgrims and visitors.] In the sunny Italian peninsula, bayleaves, when crushed underfoot, would emit an attractive fragrance, thereby enhancing the festal ambiance of the church.

Those who recall attending the stational liturgies during Lent in Rome back in the 1960s and 1970s mention how the cosmatesque floor of santa Sabina (the station for Ash Wednesday) would turn green as the feet of the congregation crushed the bayleaves generously strewn over the floor. The green staining, I should imagine, required much effort at cleaning on the days after the celebration. I suspect that this is what may have led to the general suspension of the custom.

The last of the stational churches to maintain the tradition of the bayleaves, in my memory, was san Lorenzo in Damaso (now the venue of Rome’s chancery and the Church’s Centro per i Beni Culturali). The bayleaves in the mid-1980s were sparsely strewn on the bema of the confessio and on the communion rails – hardly a place where they would be crushed underfoot.

I regret the decline of this custom as it was organic on various levels and carried on a venerable tradition that enhanced the general liturgical experience. Are there no Romans left in the Eternal City?? O tempora! O mores!

St. Colman’s Cathedral, Cobh, Co. Cork.

Found this collection on Flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/xrrr/67862900/

St. Colman’s Cathedral, Cobh, Co. Cork

Here we have a photograph taken in July 2006. We have seen the ugly sight before redolent of untidiness and abject slovenliness. But what I wouldlike to know is where do those marble panels come from? Have they been wrenched from some part of the Cathedral interior and if so what is Cobh Urban District Council doing about it?