Sacred Heart Parish was organized in 1884, while the Gothic Revival church dates from 1895. At the time of this church’s founding, the episcopal see of this diocese was in Alton, Illinois. Originally a German parish, the church now celebrates the Holy Mass in English and Spanish. According to the Diocese, the combined parish includes 480 parishioners in 290 families.
The church features finely carved wood altars.
These are the first photos here taken with a new camera; this, coupled with new computer software, allows for a far more subtle — and theoretically, more visually accurate — rendering of colors; however, because of my inexperience with this new technology, there is a bit of inconsistency among the photos.
The freestanding altar depicts the Last Supper, while the Annunciation is depicted in the stained glass window. The reredos provides a great backdrop and a setting for the tabernacle.
A closer view of the tabernacle, flanked by angels — a configuration inspired by the original Ark of the Covenant of the Old Testament — with a small Crucifix above and a symbol of the Sacred Heart of Jesus below. As the heart is a symbol of love, the thorns around the heart illustrate how our sins wound God’s love for us.
Located to the right of the altar, here are statues of the Infant Jesus and the Virgin of Guadalupe.
The altar of the Blessed Virgin Mary is on the left.
A view to the left aisle; here we see the Stations of the Cross and some of the stained glass windows.
Above the Gothic arches in the nave are paintings of the offices of Christ; here we see Christ the Priest.
A holy water font.
Address:
730 South Twelfth Street
Springfield, IL 62703
Great pictures! My daughter and I attended Mass at this church for about 14 months in 2008-09 while the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception was under renovation. I found this church quite beautiful, though due to its age, in need of a little TLC. Can we anticipate pictures of the renovated Cathedral next?
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Elaine, although I did visit the Cathedral, I only took a few photos and left, because when I got there, Mass was about to begin. I had a very busy schedule that day and took many photos at lots of sites. I hope to go back again soon and get lots of Cathedral photos: that town certainly has a lot to see.
DeleteActually, it was during my first visit to that Cathedral that I started doing high-quality photography. I learned lots of new techniques and applied them rigorously for the first time during that visit — I also took my time to do the job well.
You did, indeed, do a beautiful job on these. Thank you for sharing the beauty with the rest of us. ~ Rosemary in Ohio
ReplyDeleteThey did a good job with the freestanding altar. It is of the same style and design as the high altar. So many times I have seen pictures of historic churches that have nothing more than a stone slab or a wooden "table" that has no harmony in appearance with the old high altar.
ReplyDeleteVery nice job with these photos. This church is trying to raise money for maintenance/restoration, and photos like these can help. My family belonged to this church for decades. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI used to attend Mass here in the '90s, I am trying to find the name of the pastor back then, he was a polish priest named Eugene..thanks!
ReplyDeleteThis church is a beautiful example of the old gothic style church that I grew up in and find so inspiring to attend. The old St. Joseph's church was very similar and it was heartbreaking to see it torn down for a modern version. Thankfully, we still have Sacred Heart and its variety of masses. Pray it will be with us for many years to come.
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