Before and After: St. Edward Catholic Church in Athens, Texas
BEFORE!
AFTER!
This Catholic parish purchased a former Protestant church building as is quite evident by the before picture and how the sanctuary is placed on a stage and one could easily fall off of if not careful!
But the A-frame building is like many low-cost Catholic church buildings built in the 1950's and 60's.
The after photos shows how a traditional approach to the sanctuary can truly beautify an otherwise ugly building and/or setting.
What I appreciate the most, though, is even though the sanctuary is traditional and with an altar railing to boot, there is only one altar, not a multiplicity of altars. And the one altar is not competing with a secondary altar behind it and placed higher! The reredos for the tabernacle is quite beautiful, quite tradtional but not on a competing "high" altar. The only altar, one that is free standing, but connected visually to its backdrop, can allow for Mass facing the nave or ad orientem.
One altar please and make it look like this in terms of the connection to what is behind it!
Well done Texas!
4 comments:
Kept it simple - very nice.
Relative to some, the before wasn't that bad, just overrun with chairs. Too much. Way too much. At least plastic plants weren't in abundance.
The after, without question, is stunning. Glad side shrines were added and the altar rail to distinguish heaven from earth (nebo i zemla). Well done!
Might I add that this style of tapered "A" frame structure was prevalent early to mid '70s when testers became more prevalent in U.S. RC church architecture. This is actually very on-point for the era in which I'm guessing this structure was built. Well thought out if this was the case.
Meant early to mid '60s, NOT '70s.
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