I have been to St. Meinrad’s many times in the 80’s and 90’s. By that point, the Benedictines there had wreckovated an absolutely stunning arch-abbey chapel. Mahogany pews, beautiful altars and other art work were removed and the magnificent flooring was covered in concrete, yes, a sidewalk look! The altar was placed by the entrance doors of the church and looked like a giant picnic table. I don’t have photos of that horror.
The renovated photos from the early 2000's show a little bit, but not much, of a commonsensical return to beauty but the altar is still by the entrance doors and the ambo is where the altar once was. In the latest renovation the stairs to the old sanctuary and high altar are removed and all is on one level.
One can only imagine the waste of money and resources in all these renovations when what was original was good enough, actually magnificent. And think about the amount of teaching or catechesis that had to happen to convince some of the monks, many of the seminarians and the laity who support this monastery to buy into the new looks hook, line and sinker!
There is a completely different theology in these two looks below. And one has to wonder what did this wreckovation do the faith of the monks and seminarians in the transition from beauty and tradition to the perversions that followed? What did it do to the faith and morals of these people and their understanding of the Real Presence of Christ. There is definitely a shift from a High Christology to a Low Christology and a low faith and morals.
The original look and wreckovated looks:
The renovated photos from the early 2000's show a little bit, but not much, of a commonsensical return to beauty but the altar is still by the entrance doors and the ambo is where the altar once was. In the latest renovation the stairs to the old sanctuary and high altar are removed and all is on one level.
One can only imagine the waste of money and resources in all these renovations when what was original was good enough, actually magnificent. And think about the amount of teaching or catechesis that had to happen to convince some of the monks, many of the seminarians and the laity who support this monastery to buy into the new looks hook, line and sinker!
There is a completely different theology in these two looks below. And one has to wonder what did this wreckovation do the faith of the monks and seminarians in the transition from beauty and tradition to the perversions that followed? What did it do to the faith and morals of these people and their understanding of the Real Presence of Christ. There is definitely a shift from a High Christology to a Low Christology and a low faith and morals.
The original look and wreckovated looks:
4 comments:
Dearly beloved, we gather here today to celebrate the coming of the Borg. Shall we play Chinese Checkers while we wait?
Bee here:
Hey, wow! The after pictures look just like an Anglican church!!! What are the odds?
If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, and walks like a duck, guess what?
God bless.
Bee
Did Father Richard Vosko coordinate the wreckovation of St. Meinrad's chapel?
Does that altar contain the reli s of St, Rubic?
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