Before: 1958 look of Saint Teresa Church, Albany, Georgia
Minor alteration to the altar in late 1960's:
I wrote this article for our diocesan newspaper "The Southern Cross" about 41 years ago, in 1981 just a little over year after my ordination as a priest.
It was about the renovation of the parish Church to which I was assigned, St. Teresa's Church in Albany, Georgia.
I think this theology is going to have a resurgence today since we are going backwards liturgically to the 1970's way of doing things in the Church. This renovations was planned in the late 1970's and I helped to plan it and then execute it!
Here is my article:
On Saturday afternoon, October 31, (1981) Bishop Raymond W. Lessard dedicated the newly renovated sanctuary of St. Teresa’s Church in Albany (GA). The rites of the solemn ceremony included the sprinkling with water and anointing with chrism of the new altar as well as its incensation. This ritual corresponds to the rites of initiation of Christians through the sacraments of baptism and confirmation. Just as we are initiated by the waters of baptism, and anointed with the gift of the Holy Spirit for membership and service in the Assembly of God’s people, so to is the altar sprinkled and anointed for service in the midst of God’s people as we celebrate the presence of the risen Christ among us.
When Saint Teresa’s Church building was first dedicated in 1958 by then Bishop Thomas J. McDonough, its worship space was designed to accommodate an understanding of the Church's liturgy which was primarily the responsibility of the priest assisted by altar boys. The laity passively participated as spectators to what occurred beyond the barrier of the altar railing and was between the priest and God.
The universal changes promulgated by the Second Vatican Council touched the local churches throughout the world. Saint Teresa’s in Albany began to experience what this renewal meant as the concrete changes began to touch them in the most dramatic way in the mid 1960’s. As the years progressed, the leadership of St. Teresa’s began to realize the broader implications of the symbolic changes in church liturgy. The 1958 design of the church’s worshiping space neither captured nor symbolized the new role of the laity in the total life of the church and its worship. Under the pastorate of Fr. Herbert J. Wellmeier and the parish council, a committee was chosen in the summer of 1980 to come up with a new plan for St. Teresa’s sanctuary. The architectural firm of Rambusch of New York was hired as design consultants for the renovation committee. They are noted specialists in church renovation.
The design concept of the newly renovated sanctuary incorporates the most recent theological thinking on how best to symbolize the presence of Christ in and with the worshiping assembly. We worship God the Father through the presence of His Son Jesus. His presence calls us to actively participate in His life which should touch every aspect of our lives.
The seating around the altar and ambo (pulpit) is arranged in a manner that draws the assembly into the actions of worship. The assembly becomes aware of Christ in and with the gathered community, “Where two or three meet in my name, I shall be there with them.” (Matthew 18:20) The presence of Christ here must be acknowledged and reverenced. The arrangement of chairs allows faces to be seen rather than just the backs of people’s heads. We do not worship privately, but corporately with others.
The assembly gathers around the one table of God’s Word, the ambo, to be nourished by the presence of Christ in the proclaimed Scriptures. “In the beginning was the Word: The Word was with God and the Word was God…The Word was made Flesh, He lived among us…: (John 1:1-14) The presence of Christ here must be acknowledge and reverenced.
Likewise, the assembly gathers around the one table of the Lord’s Supper—the altar. A multiplicity of altars lessens the significance of the one table which is a sign of Christ who is the source of our unity. As a unified assembly aware of our communion with the entire church, we are nourished by the body and blood of our Lord who is present through the signs and actions of blessing bread and wine, and communally eating and drinking the Lord’s Supper-the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. The presence of Christ here must be acknowledged and reverenced.
The altar, ambo and celebrant’s chair are centrally located in the worship space of the Church. These furnishings extend far into the assembly eliciting participation and symbolizing the intimacy of Christ with His people—the Church. Statuary and other art work are placed in locations other than the sanctuary so that at Mass the focus of attention is on the various actions of the celebration not on various devotions.
To the left of the ambo and altar is the large baptismal pool. Baptism incorporates the Christian into the assembly of believers. It initiates the Christian into the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. The baptismal pool with its life-giving water is a powerful symbol of our Christian dignity and responsibility as a priestly people.
To the right of the ambo and altar is the organ and place for the choir. The choir as part of the gathered worshiping assembly does not entertain, but leads the community in singing and actively participating in the worship of the heavenly Father. The move from the choir loft to the side of the sanctuary highlights the ministry of leadership of the choir.
To the rear of the altar and ambo is a beautifully crafted decorative screen. Behind this screen is a devotional area which accommodates eight to ten people. This is where the Holy Eucharist is reserved in the tabernacle for those who are sick and shut-in and for private prayer and meditation. A hanging sanctuary lamp above the screen signifies the presence of the Eucharist I the tabernacle.
The total perspective of the renovated sanctuary immediately encourages the gathered worshipers to focus in upon the faith realities of the presence of Christ in His community, in His Word and in His Supper. St. Teresa’s sanctuary is a model of what other churches in the diocese can do with their pre-Vatican II sanctuary designs.
After in 1981:
Please note fiberglass windows with circular wood chips embedded in it (gold color).
New Windows installed around 1983 and an after/after renovation in the late 90's which included an expansion of the transepts and then antique reredos added and antique windows added from a closed convent in Kentucky in the 2020's:
5 comments:
Looks like you drank the kool aid. Fortunately you matured in your priesthood while many have not
Father don’t forget in the Novus Ordo the Priest is the Star of the Big show not God. You got to love the spirit of Vatican II.
In looking at these pictures, something came to mind. When I served Mass as a boy in the 1970’s, the credence table was always on what used to be called the Gospel side. When I first learned to serve the older form of Mass about thirty years ago, I noticed that the credence table is usually on the Epistle side. Why did this change? Second, when I served Mass as a boy (Novus Ordo) in the 1970’s, we always started and ended Mass with the chalice veiled on the credence table. Sometime after I finished high school in 1979, the priests stopped using the veil and burse. Again, why? My two student daughters attend Sunday Mass at St. Joseph in Athens, Ga. The priests there always have the veiled chalice on the altar at the beginning of Mass.
The credence table is still on the correct side depending on which way the priest is facing. If facing the people, technically the Epistle side of the altar is to the priest’s right side, no matter which direction the altar faces, it is from the priest’s perspective not the congregation’s. The priest or deacon should prepare the chalice and wash his hands by going right, not left. That’s true no matter the direction of the altar.
The chalice veil is not mandated, unfortunately, in the OF GIRM but it isn’t prohibited either. I have used a chalice veil for the last 18 years, along with the burse.
Thanks for that answer, Father. I kinda suspected that it had something to do with the orientation of the priest but I’ve never been told that nor have I ever seen anything in print that explained the reason. As to the chalice veils and burses, it seems like they went by the wayside in a lot of places about the same time we stopped seeing Communion patens being used, the option of Communion in the hand coming in, as well as female altar servers. All these things were not my experience of the NO Mass throughout most of the 1970’s when I was a young boy and teenager serving Mass.
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