Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Tacoma, Washington is a stunningly beautiful church that needs to have $18 million worth of restoration work to make it safe to occupy. The only 1990's problem with it is the interior paint job. But artisans could easily bring the interior back to the splendor it could and should have. But alas, it will be torn down because Catholics think millions of dollars could be spent better at shopping malls, on sky scrappers and other idols to pagan gods. It is slated to be demolished. Maybe it is a symbol of all that has disappeared from the Catholic landscape since Vatican II, such as the Extraordinary Form Mass that once was the Ordinary Form, habits, meatless Fridays, churches, schools, hospitals and Catholics.
An appeal can be made within 10 days of the decree’s issuance, according to the archdioceLocals have gathered at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary for more than 125 years for Mass, funerals and weddings.The original wooden church build by German immigrants is long gone. Its masonry replacement, which was completed in 1920 and has a blue interior and a 210-foot steeple, became a Tacoma landmark.“It’s been an architectural monument since it was built,” said parishioner Thom Ryspe
16 comments:
Sky scrappers??? REALLY???
Try skyscrapers.
Sheesh
I have my truth and my spelling; u have ur truth and ur spelling. Get use to modern ways. Rigidity is the enemy of individual truths and spelling.
Seriously, Anonymous? This isn’t a grammar blog, and it’s pretty obvious that typing skyscrappers is a keystroke error. If that’s the only thing you notice or have to contribute, I feel incredibly sorry for you. You’re missing out on the important things in life.
It saddens me that they are planning to demolish that church. It’s really beautiful, and you can see the potential. Have they considered fundraising for it? I’m not talking about a campaign that tries to solicit $18 million from the parishioners. I’m talking about involving the entire community. Maybe the priest and some members of the congregation who have connections could meet with some of the local businesses? What about seeking contractors who may or may not be willing to do some or all of the work pro bono? I’m guessing there aren’t many people who do this kind of work, but who knows? Maybe some parishioners who are contractors could do part of the work, and let the professionals do the work that only they can do? Are these possibilities, or is there another reason for the demolition, such as selling the land for an exorbitant amount of money because some “influential person” wants to build something there? If that’s the case, ask as many people who care about the church to pack the local county or city zoning meeting to see if that land could remain solely zoned for the church. A lot of developers will walk away when people voice too much opposition. I’m trying to think of plausible solutions, but in doing so, I’m making a lot of assumptions. There is so much about the situation that is unknown. What I do know is that they’re tearing down a beautiful church with so much history, and beautiful architecture.
Is it just me, or are the aquamarine walls a little much? It’s a lot of paint to fix, but if they toned it down to more of a turquoise, I think it would look very nice, along with all of the antique white. I would also suggest removing the carpet. It doesn’t look right, and it’s not even fitted or tacked down at the end of some of the pews.
I’m concerned. Is the black and white picture a recent picture of the church? I hope not. If it is, all that overgrowth could prevent some people from being able to envision how that church could be restored to the place it once was.
I looked at the aquamarine pictures a little closer, and noticed that the pictures were taken at a wedding. It must have been tough to pick out the color for the bridesmaids dresses. So many colors would not work, not that the dress color for the bridesmaids is even remotely
one of the most important parts of wedding planning.
Seriously, Jennifer, hang around this blog long enough and you'll quickly come to realize that the blog owner's mistake wasn't a keystroke error. Add to that that every computer comes with Spell Check and, well, you get the pikcher.
Holy Rosary Church is 0.4 miles from St. Joseph Church, an FSSP project, in Tacoma, a 6 minute walk on S. Devlin Street. It is less and two miles from St. Rita, St. Leo, and Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic churches. It's not as if the people will be left without a church to attend.
Tacoma residents have a median annual income of $55,000. That's on the lower end of incomes, especially if we are talking about even a small family of four. The median cost of a home in Tacoma is $302,000.
Parishes are responsible for maintaining their infrastructures. The good people at St. Rita, St. Leo, Sts. Peter and Paul, and St. Joseph have to maintain their own parish buildings and can't be responsible for Holy Rosary's $18 million needs.
In this one also has to consider longer term viability. The Pacific NW leads the nation in "nones" and other unchurched individuals. Is there a longer term need to keep Holy Rosary, given the likelihood that there will be little chance that, in the longer term, what is repaired today will not have the support it will require in the next two or three decades?
Another Vatican Disaster II "success story." The New Springtime is just around the corner, the OF is packing them in!!!
Anonymous at 11:24, what does "pikcher" mean?
Golly, I feel guilty having gone to a pagan monument yesterday, Atlanta's Lenox Square. But like churches, there are a lot of malls dying too, even here in rapidly-growing metro Atlanta.
Seriously, the 1124 Anonymous is right about how secular the Pacific Northwest is---Washington state especially is inhospitable territory for conservatives overall (though the portion east of the Casdades is conservative, not many people live there) Sometimes churches close even in the South, like Augusta's Sacred Heart (1971) which in large part was a victim of Catholics moving to St. Marys on the Hill (away from the previously---pre Lake Thurmond Dam---flood-prone downtown Augusta). Or even here in Atlanta, I know of 3 Methodist churches that have closed in recent years. I suspect we have a lot of "nones" in our region too.
SO TJM believe that if we just went back to the Latin Mass, all would be well in secular places like the Northwest, California and New England? Abortion would be outlawed (and divorce), and marriage would go back to man and woman. Uh, I think not....
There's a thriving Carmel associated with the SSPX in Washington state, and one of the largest SSPX apostolates in the world is just across the state line in Post Falls, Idaho. So there is some evidence to suggest a demand for traditional Catholicism even in the highly secularized Pacific Northwest.
The Latin Mass played a major role in defeating paganism throughout history, so it doesn't seem too far-fetched to imagine its doing so again.
This reminds me of my parish church in Dayton. I spend a lot of time on the plant and campus and can see the end not many Catholic years away. There are contents and parts that could be salvaged. We are the home of SPORCH (yeah, I know) and the principal has salvaged many works of art with Catholic significance. On to the main point, I have always thought of our Churches as important displays of art. Art museums are rarely challenged on their costs; rather they are often lauded as examples of community commitment to higher values. Since art museums rarely do double duty as food pantries and shelters I think we can with clear conscience spend large sums on our structures.
Anonymous at 12:51,
You sound like a Kavanaugh Clone. If the Mass and Catholic practice and theology had not been monkeyed with the Church would be in a far better position today and you can bet if the Church had maintained even half of its influence the Dems would not have morphed into the Abortion Party because folks like Senator “Oldsmobile” Kennedy would either have conformed or been tossed out of the Church
Yes, TJM, I am a clone of someone I have never met and would not know if I encountered him on the street. And if the Episcopal Church had not changed their 1928 Book of Common Prayer (their 1979 one is to a degree based on Vatican 2 of all things),they would not be experiencing the losses they are today...but wait! The Episcopal Church was losing members back in the 1970s even before the changes in their Prayer Book. The Eastern Orthodox have kept a lot of their liturgical traditions, but how are they faring in America today? Do we see a lot of new Orthodox parishes being formed? Do a majority of Russians attend Orthodox services every week?
The point is that the decline in many denominations goes beyond liturgy. A lot of people I know who left the Catholic Church did not do so because of "guitar Masses" or laity were serving communion...most of whom I know who have left cited moral issues---abortion, birth control and divorce being the primary three. Some did not like lack of ordained women clergy.
Something happened in the mid to late 1960s, a force we simply could not withstand, the radical changes in society, Vietnam, campus unrest and the like. Unfortunately the genie really could not go back in the bottle. Couple those things with judges who came up with creative constitutional interpretations to force abortion on demand and same sex marriage on us, it is no wonder we are in the state we are in these days. I suspect for many voters, the Supreme Court will be a primary factor for supporting a second Trump term, as even a moderate choice on the Trump side is better than any nominee a liberal Democrat would choose.
Restoration of historic buildings and restoration of sacred spaces is a professional trade. In some countries some people study (and pay tuition) to learn how to do it correctly. How many places are there in this country that teach artisans this craft? How many bishops have preached that church restoration is an important part of Church? When the statues and fresco's and stained glass and masonry went out the window in favor of commercial architects whimsical designs, so did a large part of Catholicism; its Artists and Artisans.
Anon 4:41 - You make too much sense for TJM to take you seriously. Batten down your hatches for more unwarranted and baseless accusations.
If this church were to stay open, the paint job is not the only thing that needs attention. The platform and altar would have to go as well.
Anonymous K,
I think Anonymous at 4:41 is not a member of the Abortion Party like you, so you will find no solace with him/her.
The forces in the 1960s did not have to touch the Church. The left-wing loons in the hierarchy chose that path with disastrous results. Funny, I lived through that time and in the late 1960s abortion nor women priests would have hardly been on any Catholic's radar screen as a reason for leaving. Even Dick Durbin, was pro life then. Left-wing loon, Andrew Greeley, tried to tie a drop in Mass attendance to Humanae Vitae, but Church attendance began dropping shortly after the initial "deforms" were instituted 3 years before Humanae Vitae was issued. I had two uncles who stopped going to Mass because they find the changes disruptive and were dismayed because the Mass was supposed to be "unchangeable."
Look the bishops were wrong about liturgical reform, but unlike their counterparts in the secular world, they could not be fired for incompetence. Have a nice day!
NO TJM, 4:41 is not a member of the abortion party---or member of any political party. But he has never backed a Democrat for president and would be hard-pressed to find a reason to do so, even if he is not thrilled with some of the Republican stances in DC on the spiraling national debt, the trade wars or Trump's tweeting. And my home state of Georgia will be a test next year as just hours ago, Johnny Isakson, our senior senator, announced his resignation for the end of the year (he has bad case of Parkinsons). You can be sure the nominees of each party for that seat will have opposite views on abortion---and can pretty much figure which candidate will be closest to the Church view on that.
As for the Mass supposedly being unchangeable, well, not really. If it could never change, then we'd have to go by the first Eucharist on Holy Thursday. There could not have been a Nicene Creed at the time---that was not adopted for hundreds of years later. Could not have been any New Testament readings at the Last Supper---there was no New Testament of course at that time. No clerical collars, probably no vestments, no altar rail, no pews. And we'd have to do it in Aramaic (no Latin at the Last Supper). The question then is not whether the Mass can change, but under what conditions it should. I don't agree with change for change sake either.
For the parish church, I really don't think that all that much needs to be done. The shade of blue would work if there was some more religious depictions (or even stars) filling the space. (Or it could well be that the shade of blue isn't as bad as it looks in the photo in person). Take out the versus populum altar, and it'd be functional. (I'd support an altar rail or rood screen)...it's such a pity that this church would be closed. Even if it's just an occasional use chapel, that would be better than closing it. (I'd argue that's what should be done in most of these situations, hand off the daily upkeep to some deidicated folks, and keep the church for what it was meant to be.
Anon at 441: In Russia Orthodoxy is growing once again now that the shackles of the Bolshiveks are gone. There has been a slow growth within America (much due to ignorance, as they are a major minority within the US). There has been growth in the UK, as they've been opening up missions in various places. Western Rite Orthodoxy is also making inroads as well opening up missions down south. I agree with you it wasn't just the Liturgy that lead people out of the church in the West and that there were other factors that happened. But I would make the argument that it was definitely amongst the top two in reasons people left the church in the west.
A wise person once said, sometimes, it's not what you're changing, it'ss how you're going about changing them. The overnight destruction/abuse/iconoclasm that happened in many places in the western church made major damage. Then to add even more fuel to the fire that was already happening, the entire praxis of the Liturgy was changed with the introduction of the Novus Ordo Missal. Prior to that point the changes in Liturgy had nothing to do with praxis and were minimal. (change of a few propers/adding St Joseph to the Canon). Since the entire approach to Liturgy changed, everything fell with it, and as such, it can be seen how that changed the people and their resulting actions.
I was born well after all of these things happened, so I suppose one can say I'm the result of the changes. Catechism class for me was pet rocks, and maybe a few puzzles. No quotes from the fathers of the Church, no heavy stuff, it was all about emotion. It was more about creating an emotional experience versus getting to the heart. .I suppsoe one could say the real problem is the idolatry of intellectualism to the point where the heart is forgotten...but that probably deserves its own blog post.
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