Saint Raphael Catholic Church in New Orleans was devastated by Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath.
The parish closed for a while due to the damage but re-emerged as the church building for a new parish of consolidated parishes.
The new parish name is Transfiguration.
I visited St. Raphael in the very early 1980’s shortly after my ordination as I had a seminary classmate who was assigned there.
This is what it looked like then:
After Katrina and the closing of parishes into one merged parish that used the once flooded St. Raphael Church but renamed Transfiguration, this is how it was renovated:
6 comments:
Think of all the money that could have been used for the poor instead of turning a perfectly acceptable sanctuary into a tasteless clutter
I suppose, relative to RC books, it serves the purpose and doesn't invalidate the sacraments. If not for the sanctuary lamp, I would not have recognized the tabernacle as such. Indeed, this is a style.
So often, we hear "don't do x so it doesn't take away from the altar". There is so little there to remove.
Space that inspires? I guess that which provides inspiration is derived from the perspective of the individual. This doesn't inspire much in me and the off-centeredness is irritating. Ideology at the expense of Catholicity? Rupture? I just don't know what to think here. What I do know is in certain RC diocese around me, and to their credit, this design would NOT have been approved for execution. I feel badly for children. They are going to grow up thinking the Jesus, the Church etc. is off-center and they'll likely just drift away as so many do. Off-center vocations? Probably not; but, you never know.
The priest in the link below looks as though he is mentally redesigning this "space". I would be.
I thank goodness this sort of presentation is just not permitted in my rite/Church.
To see more:
https://neworleanschurches.com/transfiguration/index.htm
Something that immediately caught my eye was the severe reduction in size of the crucifix. Sad.
From "meh" to "gah!"
Nick
Father McDonald,
Some good news for a change:
https://x.com/Sachinettiyil/status/1896293039536251053?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1896293039536251053%7Ctwgr%5Ee257ac7d8f012a3d0243fc3b1bbe7a61f02c4b7c%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwdtprs.com%2F
I can't say much about the renovation. To me it is rather cold - simplicity going a bit too far. They had so much space to work with, especially the vertical. And this is me - the asymmetry drives me bananas.
There is a built-in sedilia on the left, so I wonder what the chairs are for. Maybe they were for the bishop and deacons at the re-dedication mass
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