The church appears to be nearly identical to when I last visited.
The altar is made of wood and is in the middle of the transept; here it is decorated for the feast of the Resurrection of Our Lord.
The ordering of the sanctuary and baptismal font appear to be based on the USCCB document Art and Environment in Catholic Worship.
The tabernacle is placed in the center of the old high altar.
I neglected to bring my camera's tripod on this trip, so I had to hand-hold the camera, making these photos somewhat blurry.
This shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help. The devotion has Redemptorist roots, and that religious order still staffs this church.
Stained glass window of the Holy Family.
For more information, and for photos dating from my 2007 pre-fire visit, please click here. Those photos are featured in the book Catholic St. Louis: A Pictorial History, and on a segment of the KETC television show Living St. Louis.
The organ in this church is supposedly quite fine. It was built by the Wick's Organ company in Highland, Illinois early in the last century. Wick's, the largest pipe organ building firm in the world initially built low-end instruments. In order to gain a reputation for better instruments they collaborated with the British organ builder, Willis. They took on the Willis son as an employee but he succumbed to the influence of St. Louis women and wine. He returned home but was able to complete a few fine instruments including this one. Apparently it is used not at all by it's congregation but the Wick's company provides upkeep because it is such a fine instrument. Before the fire it was in disrepair but is reported to be fully functional now.
ReplyDeletesuch a beautiful church.
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